Bearing down: Bush finishes Bears practice with big collision

The Bears' plan going into Tuesday's practice was to turn up the intensity.

The workout ended with a bang. Specifically, a goal-line collision between linebacker Devin Bush and receiver Luther Burden III, that left Burden rattled.

“It's practice. I was going for the ball,” Bush said calmly. “It wasn't nothing malicious or anything like that.”

The first-team offense was running a two-minute drill. With three seconds on the clock, there was time for one last play from around the 15-yard line. The defense backed up into a zone and Caleb Williams tried to thread the needle for Burden in heavy traffic, but the pass was incomplete.

Burden said later he heard he was hit by multiple players, but it was just Bush. He didn't launch himself or anything. The Bears newcomer stayed upright and just put a solid body blow on Burden as the ball arrived.

“Our responsibility is to not let him in the end zone,” Bush said. “The offense's responsibility is to get it in the end zone. So it's a competitive play.”

Burden stayed on the ground for about a minute, then walked slowly toward the sideline. He seemed to be fine physically when he went to the podium about an hour later, but also didn't seem ready to laugh it off.

“Not typical (for a practice play),” Burden said. “It's football, man. I haven't watched the film on it. I don't really know what happened. I couldn't see who hit me. I just know it was a bang-bang play.”

It was definitely one that made the fans cringe. A day earlier, the Bears lost safety Coby Bryant for 8-10 weeks with a knee injury when he landed awkwardly on a pass coverage drill.

Despite plenty of concerns heading into camp, the Bears defense has held its own during 11-on-11 segments. Whether that means the defense is better than expected or the offense is not yet in sync remains to be seen. But Bush said he had no intention to send a message to the defense with the goal-line hit.

“I was going to pick him up,” Bush said. “I seen he was laying down. I wasn't going to move him if he didn't want to be moved. I wasn't really trying to send a message to anybody. If it was another colored jersey, then yeah.”

It wasn’t quite the last play of Tuesday’s practice, but things ended a couple minutes later when Tyson Bagent’s second-team two-minute drill was foiled by an interception from Anthony Johnson Jr.

Tyrique Stevenson picked off a pass earlier in the day on a play where there seemed to be miscommunication between Williams and Colston Loveland. Also, a blitzer deflected a pass that popped into the air and was snagged by Dayo Odeyingbo.

Bush and Burden are both seen as catalysts for the Bears heading into the season. Head coach Ben Johnson raved about Burden's ability before camp began.

“Luther is a dog,” running back D'Andre Swift said. “It shows in his play, his attitude; somebody you want to play next to. His play style is contagious, one that can spark the offense.”

The Bears targeted Bush in free agency because of his speed. It appears he could help spark the pass rush as well. Earlier in the two-minute drill, Bush chased Williams around the backfield and forced an incomplete pass. That kind of play in camp could be helpful for both sides down the line.

“(Williams) has got some wiggle to him,” Bush said. “He's super agile. I didn't think he was that agile, but chasing him and him being able to get the ball off like that at those different angles. We've got (Minnesota's) Kyler Murray in this division now, a guy that's obviously quick and fast like that, so it's just great reps.