6 things we learned at Chicago Bears OTAs, including QB Justin Fields continuing to impress with his leadership – The Denver Post

The Chicago Bears held their fifth practice of organized team activities Wednesday at Halas Hall, moving through their offseason program with the goal of building continuity and chemistry before training camp.

Here are six things we learned from Wednesday’s on-field session as well as interviews with coaches and players.

1. Quarterback Justin Fields continues to impress with his growth and leadership skills.

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams put his analysis into the Fields progress report Wednesday, indicating he has been impressed with Fields’ ownership of the position and development over the last 14 months.

“I see how he has grown from last year to this year, and practice by practice by practice, he’s still growing,” Williams said. “You have to be encouraged when you see those things.”

Specifically?

“His leadership,” Williams said. “Because that’s what you want in your quarterback. I see good decision making. That’s what you want in your quarterback. I see improved accuracy. That’s what you want in your quarterback. And how fast he’s processing. That’s also, in my mind, what you want in your quarterback.”

Coach Matt Eberflus agreed with Williams’ assessment, particularly as it related to Fields’ processing speed.

“It is detectable when you’re out there,” Eberflus said. “You can see him going through his reads quicker and reading the coverages on the snap and processing where to go with the football. And he’s been working on his footwork and his release. He’s been doing a great job with all those things.”

2. The Bears are keeping their eyes on the free-agent market as they look to improve their pass rush.

“We’re interested in a lot of free agents,” Eberflus said after practice. “We’re interested in a lot of guys at all positions right now. We’re just excited about being able to look at those guys and potentially add as we go through camp and get closer to the season.”

The Bears finished last season with the lowest sack total in the NFL, tallying 20 in 17 games with rookie safety Jaquan Brisker leading the team with four. Yet their offseason activity in upgrading the pass rush has been minimal.

They signed veteran DeMarcus Walker to a three-year, $21 million deal in March and added sixth-year defensive end Rasheem Green on a one-year “prove-it” contract a few weeks later. Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson are also part of the defensive end group.

General manager Ryan Poles has vowed to explore every option for possible upgrades, and Eberflus’ comments Wednesday were another indication the Bears will continue to evaluate possible roster additions this summer.

3. Jaylon Johnson is still not participating in OTAs.

Johnson was once again absent from on-field work and team meetings, and Eberflus said he has no clarity on whether his top cornerback will be back for the third week of OTAs.

“He’ll probably be here for mandatory minicamp (June 13-15),” Eberflus said. “Hopefully next week (too), potentially.

Williams also weighed in on Johnson’s absence, emphasizing that the Bears would love to have Johnson participating in OTAs.

“I want the guys to be out there because I do feel that we bring value,” Williams said. “I think we have the best coaching staff in the world, the best training staff, the best strength and conditioning staff. We have the best dietitian. I think we have the best of everything here. So I want guys to be here. But it is voluntary.”

Williams spoke glowingly about Johnson when asked for his review of the cornerback from their first season together in 2022. Johnson played 11 games before suffering a season-ending hand injury in December. Williams praised Johnson’s intelligence, athleticism and footwork.

“The one thing that shows up the most is he understands football,” Williams said. “And so he sees the big picture.”

4. Jaylon Johnson wasn’t the only Bears player not practicing.

Veteran guard Nate Davis, a priority free-agent signee in March, has not attended OTAs, and Eberflus said Davis’ absence is not related to the season-ending ankle injury he suffered with the Tennessee Titans late last season.

“He’s just not here,” Eberflus said.

Veteran center Cody Whitehair believes it will be easy to blend Davis into the starting offensive line once he begins working with his new team.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Whitehair said. “He’s a veteran guy. He’s played in this system for a long time, coming from Tennessee. A lot of the stuff is the same. … I don’t think it’ll be a very hard transition. It’ll be pretty smooth.”

Safety Eddie Jackson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney also weren’t present Wednesday as both recover from season-ending injuries in November.

Players who attended but didn’t participate included wide receiver Chase Claypool, linebacker Jack Sanborn, running back D’Onta Foreman and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. Eberflus insinuated that Claypool was dealing with a minor soft-tissue issue.

“There’s no reason to risk anything at this time,” Eberflus said.

5. The Bears welcomed Cooper Roberts as a special guest to practice.

Roberts was 8 years old last July 4 when he was paralyzed during a mass shooting at the Highland Park parade. His brother, Luke, was also injured by shrapnel during the shooting, and his mother, Keely, was shot twice in the leg and foot during a tragedy that claimed the lives of seven others.

Both Roberts boys and their parents, Keely and Jason, were at Halas Hall on Wednesday and had a chance after practice to meet Fields, Eberflus and Poles.

Cooper Roberts, who loves the beach, received a new beach buggy from the team.

“He’s really excited about using that really soon.” Eberflus said.

6. The Bears have created offseason competition — sort of — at punter and placekicker.

The plan inside Halas Hall is that incumbent kicker Cairo Santos and punter Trent Gill will retain those roles heading into the season. But for now, both players have hungry competitors trying to challenge them.

Kicker Andre Szmyt is an undrafted rookie from Syracuse who signed with the team last month. Punter Ryan Anderson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018 but has yet to be on a regular-season roster after short stints with the New England Patriots (2018) and New York Giants (2019).

“Competition’s always good,” special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. “Having more than one leg in camp is always good.”

Hightower praised Szmyt as a mentally tough kicker with a “quick ball strike, rise and elevation.” But he dismissed the notion that the Bears are anxious about Santos after the veteran kicker missed five extra-point attempts last season despite connecting on 91.3% of his field-goal tries.

Hightower noted the Bears finished 2022 ranked fifth in the league in field-goal percentage (.926) with Santos kicking in 16 games and Michael Badgley filling in for one.

“A lot of people would kill to have a top-five kicker,” Hightower said. “We have to make our extra points, and I think (Santos) fixed that toward the end of the year.”

Santos made his final five PAT tries.

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