What we learned from Poles and the Bears, including why Dexter was expendable

With training camp and the preseason in the books, the Bears turned to some housekeeping Tuesday before they open the season Sept. 13 on the road against the Carolina Panthers.

They re-signed two players to the active roster and signed 14 to the practice squad. Wide receiver Luther Burden III returned to practice, and defensive end Marcus Davenport made his first appearance.

Coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday’s practice will “hammer home” a lot of situational work, while Thursday will feature a much-needed practice in pads.

“Shoot, I look back to Week 1 last year, we had a number of situational plays pop up in that game that we didn’t execute at a high enough level,” Johnson said. “So we’re going to make sure we don’t fall in that same trap again this year.”

Johnson added a padded practice because many starters didn’t play much in the preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals or at all in the finale against the Tennessee Titans.

“They (wouldn’t have been) in pads again until next Tuesday, so we needed another padded practice in between,” he said. “That’s why that Thursday practice will be so critical as to making sure everything we’ve built up to this point — stamina, endurance, pad level, fundamentals, technique — that we don’t lose that as they get some time off this weekend.”

The Bears have work to do to install their systems, and much of that comes this week.

“You can never be set as far as the playbook goes,” tight end Colston Loveland said. “Especially throughout the season, it’s going to be changing. It’s all about the little things, the details, because that’s the stuff where we get into the late weeks of the season, we might start messing up some things.

“So it’s important that we go through the whole playbook and we go over installs, even though it sounds boring or we’ve done it before. It’s good for everyone to hear it.”

Here are five things we learned Tuesday.

1. A ‘highly competitive’ defensive tackle group made Gervon Dexter Sr. expendable.

The Bears on Sunday shipped the fourth-year veteran to Atlanta, where former Bears executive Ian Cunningham is the new general manager, in exchange for cornerback Clark Phillips III and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick.

Coaches harped on Dexter’s inconsistencies in his stance and in attacking off the ball rather than his tendency to read and react, allowing the offensive lineman to strike first.

The Bears declined to offer Dexter a contract extension this offseason as they did with fellow 2023 draftee Darnell Wright, whose four-year, $116 million deal made him the highest-paid right tackle in NFL history.

But GM Ryan Poles didn’t reference Dexter’s contract when discussing his decision to part with the former second-round pick.

“That deal was more about timing than anything. Timing and fit,” Poles said. “We had some young guys really pushing that came in this year with Jordan (van den Berg) and (Jayden) Loving. They did a really good job, and we felt like it was a good fit as we moved forward.”

Johnson gushed about Loving’s development as an undrafted rookie out of Wake Forest.

“We talk about the way that we’re coaching the defensive line play this year,” Johnson said, “and when you see some young guys come in, whether it’s van den Berg, Loving, (Jamree Kromah) at the DE spot, when you see them do their best to apply that technique and you see them have results, it’s a beautiful thing.

“And (Loving’s) one of those guys, he’s young, he’s impressionable, he’s trying to do everything the coaching staff asks. And you see him have success and results from it, and it’s exciting.”

Poles said the depth at defensive tackle became “highly competitive.”

“Those young guys started making a push when we got through camp, along with obviously Grady (Jarrett), (Kentavius) Street and Neville (Gallimore),” he said. “And we felt like the timing made sense for us.”

2. The secondary remains a primary concern.

Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon’s lingering calf injury, coupled with safety Coby Bryant’s knee injury, has contributed to a carousel in the secondary.

The Bears have tried various players to not only plug those holes, but also find depth at outside cornerback as injuries have cropped up there too.

Poles declined to get into specifics about who’s leading the battles for the safety and nickel spots.

“There’s a couple starting options,” he said. “I’m not going to really get into the depth chart. There’s some strategy that goes along with that as we’re getting into (the opener at) Carolina now.

“But there’s guys that are definitely capable of starting. You saw them during the preseason, whether it was Malik (Muhammad II) playing nickel, Xavier (Woods), Cam (Lewis), along with Dillon (Thieneman), so it’s a good room.”

Poles also declined to pin down the likeliest role for Phillips, who missed all but one game last season for the Falcons with a triceps injury. Although he played mostly outside in Atlanta, some observers say he could be a natural at nickel, given his size (5-foot-9, 185 pounds).

“We’ll see. He just got here,” Poles said. “Most of his tape in Atlanta was outside. In college (at Utah), he was inside.”

Poles said Phillips’ tape showed short-area quickness and “sticky” coverage.

“He’s capable of both (positions), but since he’s been in the league, he’s been outside,” Poles said. “So we’ll see where we start him off and go from there.”

3. Kiran Amegadjie was another high draft pick that didn’t pan out.

During Sunday’s roster-trimming to 53 players, the Bears cut bait with the Hinsdale native and 2024 third-round pick from Yale.

Poles cited the depth chart, where Braxton Jones is the front-runner at left tackle, Ozzy Trapilo is on track to recover from a devastating knee injury much quicker than expected and Theo Benedet looks like the swing tackle.

“I would go back to the room and the competition,” said Poles, whose front office also reached an injury settlement with tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. “I had a good conversation with (Amegadjie) at the end. It really just wasn’t a level of consistency that we were looking for.”

Poles said he feels better about the tackle depth than he did a year ago.

“Braxton’s way healthier than he was last year,” he said. “I don’t know if he was completely himself last year, so he’s in a better place. Theo has a bunch of games under his belt, too, and then obviously when Ozzy’s ready, he’s started a bunch of big games himself, so we feel good about it.”

However, Amegadjie — whom the Philadelphia Eagles signed to their practice squad Tuesday — represents another of Poles’ Day 2 picks (second and third rounds) who didn’t last in Chicago because of performance, injuries or fit.

The list includes Dexter (2023 second round); defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (2023 third round), waived at the end of camp last year; safety Jaquan Brisker (2022 second round), who suffered multiple concussions and other injuries and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March; and wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (2022 third round), whose exit was sealed by ball-security issues in the return game and a failure to establish himself as a reliable offensive option. The unavailability of Gordon (2022 second round) also has been an albatross for Poles.

It’s too early to judge whether Poles hit on 2025 second-round picks Trapilo and defensive end Shemar Turner because injuries have limited their playing time. However, Trapilo’s development is encouraging.

Poles didn’t shy away Tuesday from his record of hits and misses.

“I’ve been pretty quick to (acknowledge that) if there’s something that doesn’t work out, we are pretty good about being honest about that and moving on,” he said. “I don’t think we are an organization, or I’m a GM, that’s going to hold on just because it was a draft pick or a trade that you made, and now I have to make it work and we are just going to keep that player here when it’s not working. That will hurt the team.

“I mentioned before that the locker room always knows. So we hold true to that.”

4. Caleb Williams is ‘goofy’ and full of ‘joy.’

Johnson was talking about how composed his quarterback is when the “g-word” slipped out.

“This guy, you know, might have had a little bit of goofy to him a year ago, and I use that term with love,” he said. “And now you just see a more serious player and intent every time I’m around him.”

“I see joy,” Poles said earlier. “I think the first year he was white-knuckling the whole time trying to figure it out, trying to do it right. He continues to do that, wanting to do it right, but you see that joy back in his game where he’s playing free.

“He sees and identifies where he comes up short faster than when he did before, and that’s where him and Ben are continuing to work really well together, trying to get better every single day. In terms of the talent, I feel really good.”

For his part, Williams cops to all of it.

“Yeah, I’m goofy,” he said. “I like laughing and joking. I like having a smile on my face. I like putting a smile on other people’s face’s. So I’ll always be that. I’m playing a child’s game and I’ll always have that sense of child in me.

“It’s really important not to be overly serious. I’m going to laugh, I’m going to joke, I’m going to be goofy, I’m going to have fun, but I do understand my maturity level has gone up in understanding of where I’m at, what I’m doing for the organization, what I’m trying to do for the organization, what I’m trying to do for the city of Chicago … my understanding of where I’m at and what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Williams said he has grown in his comfort as a leader.

“My confidence level of being able to step to my teammates, whether that’s yelling, whether that’s going over to them on the side and talking to them and having a serious conversation but a very in-control conversation,” he said.

In Year 2 of commanding Johnson’s offense, he has to “know where guys are supposed to be, how many steps, how many yards, where they’re supposed to be in the tracks.”

“So being able to step up in those ways has come from just more confidence in myself,” he said, “but also more confidence in knowing who I am but also knowing the offense.”

5. Injuries and participation.

Tuesday’s practice focused on special teams, so the majority of starters drilled with their position coaches while the special teamers worked on punt returns. But there were several developments:

Poles said Turner has been working with the performance team, doing simulated practices off to the side, but he has to build endurance.

“But he’s working his butt off,” Poles said. “I would imagine him being back at some point here when he gets through this little last phase of his rehab. And then from there … these guys will get Weeks 3 and 4 to start practicing before they’re actually active to go, knocking that rust off and becoming a football player.”

Meanwhile, Trapilo participated in warmups for the eighth practice since being activated Aug. 16. Poles said Trapilo’s anchoring and mobility have looked “fabulous” but stopped short of giving a timetable for his return.

“There’s definitely rust to knock off,” Poles said. “I don’t know how long that’ll take before he’s involved with the game plan and starting or (be) a rotational guy or active. It’s too early to tell right now.”

Booker has been out since suffering a groin injury during the joint practice with the Bengals. Asked if Booker will be ready for the opener, Poles said, “I’m not sure yet.”