Barrington’s Scotty Miller tries to find another winning QB connection with Bears

No matter what happens from here, receiver Scotty Miller always will be able to say he was Tom Brady's go-to guy during Tampa Bay's magical Super Bowl season in 2020.

He caught a memorable touchdown pass from Brady in the NFC championship game at Green Bay, but Miller is focused on conquering the present. The Barrington native is now with his hometown team, trying to make the Bears roster.

“I don't dwell on the past or things I've done or teams I've been a part of,” Miller said Tuesday at Halas Hall. “I just try to take every day one day at a time and take advantage of this opportunity. It's a great opportunity with a young team that had a lot of success last year, and we're just going to build off that.”

This will be a tough task. Offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson likes to load up on skill players, so Miller was running with the third team in practice this week. But he did impress the Bears enough at a spring mini camp to earn a contract offer, and he'll presumably get a chance to show what he can do in preseason games.

The 5-foot-9 Miller reportedly ran the 40-yard dash at a blistering 4.36 seconds during his pro day at Bowling Green. Now 29, can he still reach that speed?

“Yeah, I can run as good as I ever have, probably in the 4.2's now,” Miller said. “So I feel great, My body feels great. I've been in offenses where the last couple years I haven't played a ton. So my legs are super fresh and ready to roll.”

Maybe the key for Miller is getting a special connection with his quarterback. It worked with Brady in Tampa, maybe it can happen again with Caleb Williams.

“Yeah, 100%,” Miller said. “Me and Tom, when he signed there, I was going into my second season. I didn't play a ton as a rookie. But we spent time together in the offseason, throwing like three times a week. (It was) just getting on the same page and him telling me what he likes and what he wants me to develop and what he sees from me, and me just trying to take all that in.”

Once he signed with the Bears, Miller didn't have to track down any of the quarterbacks. They were showing up at Halas Hall every day, so jumping into the player-led workouts was easy.

Last year was a different experience. Miller signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which spent a few months waiting for a decision from Aaron Rodgers on whether to sign, which he eventually did on June 5, 2025.

“Last year was interesting because I signed early in the process and Mason Rudolph was the starter pretty much all of OTAs, and then I think Aaron signed right before the mandatory mini camp,” Miller said. “So it was different.

“But then we got to know Aaron really well after he signed, and he flew us all out to Malibu. So we got to get on the same page there. So that was the process and then it was just like fun playing alongside another one of the greats and get to learn from him as well.”

Oddly enough, Miller did not grow up a Bears fans, since his dad followed the Dallas Cowboys. But all his friends cheered for the Bears. Miller said Barrington coaches Joe Sanchez and Todd Kuklinski showed up at Tuesday's practice and they were able to catch up.

Miller hasn't been able to match the numbers from that special sophomore season in 2020 with Brady. But maybe there's some secret sauce with Bears receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. The longtime NFL receiver was with the Buccaneers as an offensive assistant during Miller's best campaign.

“The (Bears) receiver room, it's a fun group to be around,” Miller said. “Coach El, it's fun to reconnect with him, see how he's developed as a coach, running his own room.

“Then also for him to see my development, because I was so young when he was with me in Tampa. It's fun to be around him and then the receiver room has a lot of energy, a lot of playmakers.”

And plenty of competition. Miller knows he has his work cut out these next few weeks.