Reporting for duty: Bears players ready for training camp

The Bears were all back Tuesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest as veterans reported for training camp. Rookies arrived Saturday, and the team will hold its first practice Wednesday.

There will be plenty of storylines to follow over the next six weeks. New head coach Ben Johnson will hold his first training camp as an NFL head coach as he tries to bring a new culture to Chicago. Second-year quarterback Caleb Williams will look to take a big step forward this season after general manager Ryan Poles used the offseason to revamp his offensive line and add more offensive targets.

Here are four of the most interesting things the Bears said Tuesday.

On Caleb Williams’ development

One of the most important relationships Johnson had to build since he took over in January was with his quarterback. The duo used the spring and summer to grow their bond in order to be one the same wavelength when the season starts.

Although there’s still plenty of work left to do, Johnson was confident in the trust he built with Williams over the past six months.

“I think we’re ready to go,” Johnson said. “ … He and I have been talking all spring, all summer, constant phone calls, constant conversations. And so I think we’re in a great place and he wants to get coached hard. And we’re going to push him as hard as we can and do what is right for the team.”

Johnson said the plan for Williams over the next six weeks is to build from the ground up rather than throwing the whole gauntlet at him. He gave Williams homework over the summer and told reporters Williams showed some noticeable improvements since he’s come back even though the Bears haven’t gone at full speed yet.

Like for much of the team, Johnson doesn’t expect Williams’ development during camp to be linear. Johnson did set a goal for Williams to complete 70% of his passes this season — Williams completed 62.5 % of his passes last year. But the Bears haven’t set any daily benchmarks Williams needs to reach for a practice to be a success.

Williams has goals for what he wants to accomplish this season after an up-and-down rookie season. He wants to become the Bears’ first 4,000-yard passer in a season and achieve Johnson’s 70% completion goal in order to help the team move up and down the field.

In order to do that, Williams said he’ll need to work quickly in order to be ready for the season-opener against the Vikings.

“The race is here,” Williams said. “We can’t pout about the long days, you know, when those times do come about we’ve got to correct it and we’ve got to move on and we’ve got to find a way to get past that pouting or the anger or the complaining and understand where we’re at and where we need to be.”

On the battle at left tackle

Johnson said there will be competition at all levels of the Bears roster over the next few weeks. But none will be more under the microscope than the battle for the starting left tackle spot.

Braxton Jones will fight to keep his spot after starting at left tackle the last three seasons. Jones missed offseason workouts because of ankle surgery he had toward the end of the last season, which gave second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie chances to compete for the spot.

Even though Johnson said Jones’ experience could help him in the competition, Johnson emphasized the coaching staff was heading into training camp with blank slates and would let the competition play out.

“Everything’s going to matter,” Johnson said. “Every play matters, it all is going to matter as we go through this thing. And so I can’t tell you I’ve been through a three-man race before and so each play is going to be evaluated and they got to take full advantage of each opportunity that they get.”

Jones is expected to be healthy at the start of camp but might need time to ramp back up after not playing football the last six months.

“We’ll see where (Jones is) at and that’s part of the evaluation, is to see how ready he is by Week 1,” Johnson said. “So by Week 1 we’ll know exactly who our starting five are gonna be and if that takes three weeks to figure out, great. If that takes six weeks to find out, no problem.”

On approach toward the preseason

Johnson will do a lot of learning over the next six weeks. Not only is he looking to see what the Bears have on their roster. He’s also learning how to be a head coach during a game.

“What we’re looking for it’s dependability, it’s consistency, it’s production on a day in and day out basis,” Johnson said. “Not only from the players but from the coaching staff as well as we get to know each other. That’s really a big part of where we’re at and what we’re looking to do right now.”

A lot of those lessons will come in the joint practices against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills in August. The Bears will host one joint practice each against the two teams. Johnson said he’ll put a lot of weight on those practices when it comes to player evaluations.

Preseason games will also be valuable. Although Johnson said he’ll see how much players will play in the games as the preseason progresses, Johnson himself will learn a lot as he gets ready for Week 1.

“This is a race now,” Johnson said. “Like everything is a race. We have to get our fundamentals down. We have to get our execution down. This is going to be a challenge. Certainly for the first year with new systems on both sides of the ball. That’s the fun part of it too, now. That’s the challenge we want. And it’s going to be some hard work.”

On injuries, additions

The Bears made a surprising move Saturday when they placed cornerback Jaylon Johnson on the Active/Non-Football Injury list. Poles told reporters Tuesday that Johnson suffered an undisclosed leg injury while training and he would miss the next few weeks.

“We’ve got a lot of faith that he’s going to put in the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes back,” Poles said. “I’m sure we’ll have updates as we go through training camp, but it’s going to take a little bit of time, but not overly concerned about long-term.”

Quarterback Case Keenum, wide receiver Jahdae Walker and running back Ian Wheeler were also placed on the list Saturday but have since come off. Keenum was activated Sunday while Walker and Wheeler were removed from the list Tuesday.

The Bears also signed cornerback Tre Flowers and defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon on Tuesday and waived safety Alex Cook and defensive lineman Jereme Robinson to make room.

In injury news, Poles credited Jones and tight end Colston Loveland for working hard over the offseason to be ready for training camp. Loveland had shoulder surgery in January before the Bears selected him in the first round of April’s draft.

“We’re excited to get those guys back going again,” Poles said. “I’m sure there’s going to be a ramp-up period. They haven’t played football in a while. But really, they’re ready to go, knock that rust off and get going.”