The Chicago Bears reported to training camp Friday at Halas Hall a little more than seven weeks before they will host the Tennessee Titans in their regular-season opener.
With rookie quarterback Caleb Williams as the team’s new headliner and an established defense ready to rise to a new level, the Bears entered camp with heightened confidence and elevated expectations. But they also understand they will need to stay immersed in the grind of camp and preseason to have the competitive breakthrough they are expecting.
General manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and six players spoke with the media upon arrival to camp in Lake Forest. Here are four things we learned.
1. Making the playoffs is a reasonable expectation.
Even with a rookie quarterback and a new offensive system, the Bears roster is sturdy enough now to compete for a playoff berth. The bar has been set accordingly — both inside Halas Hall and in the outside world.
There was plenty of chatter Friday about the push to make the postseason and no one was more candid and insightful on the topic than tight end Cole Kmet. Over his first four seasons, Kmet has been part of only one playoff team – an 8-8 wild-card squad in the pandemic season of 2020 – and has an overall regular-season record of 24-42.
Kmet, who grew up a Bears fan, understands the year-to-year vacillation of expectations in the outside world, but was emphatic Friday in saying he has carried playoff expectations into every season.
“And you might think, ‘Oh, well, you’re crazy to think that. You haven’t been on talented teams in this year or that year,’” Kmet said. “But that’s just the mindset I’ve had every year coming in. … This isn’t college football where there are really only four teams competing (to win it all) every year. All 32 teams here are trying to win the Super Bowl and that’s part of the deal.”
Kmet went on to assert that the swelling of outside expectations won’t change the Bears’ approach.
“That’s why I remain steadfast in having the same expectations year in and year out,” he said. “So that now that we get into this situation where the outside expectation has changed, the expectation in the locker room hasn’t. For me, that’s always been the steady thing there. We can’t be worrying about what people are saying on the outside necessarily. We have to hear the plan from Flus of what he wants and how we’re going to approach the whole season and stick to that.”
2. GM Ryan Poles continues to shop the streets of free agency for possible additions to the pass rush.
The Bears general manager was direct in expressing his desire to upgrade up front if possible. As it stands, Pro Bowl selection Montez Sweat and eighth-year veteran DeMarcus Walker are the projected starters at defensive end, with Domonique Robinson, Khalid Kareem and fifth-round pick Austin Booker among those competing for significant roles behind them.
Still, don’t rule out the possibility of a summer signing in the near future.
“In the front office, it’s our job to look at every option out there to improve our football team,” Poles said. “We feel really comfortable with the guys we have on our roster now and I’m excited. We’re excited, to see (defensive line coach) Travis (Smith) and (coordinator) Eric (Washington) really put their hands on those guys and develop them as we go through the beginning of training camp. But we will always have our eyes on the list of players that we could potentially bring in.”
The list of free agents at defensive end includes Yannick Ngakoue and Emmanuel Ogbah. Ngakoue, of course, spent last season with the Bears and checks the familiarity box. But he also had a down season in 2023 with a career-low four sacks before his season ended in Week 14 when he fractured his left ankle.
Poles said he wasn’t fully up to speed with Ngakoue’s current health status but did leave the door open for a reunion.
“I really enjoyed our time with him,” Poles said. “I thought he did a nice job and brought some leadership. So that’s positive.”
3. The Bears are still formulating plans for how to manage playing time for Caleb Williams and their starting offense during preseason games.
With their inclusion in the Hall of Fame game – Aug. 1 vs. the Texans in Canton, Ohio – the Bears have four preseason contests scheduled on the itinerary and will maneuver to distribute the desired playing time for their rookie quarterback and other offensive starters.
Eberflus reiterated Friday that he looked closely at the preseason workloads of last season’s first-round quarterbacks – Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young, Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud and Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson — and is eyeing in the ballpark of 45-55 game reps for Williams next month.
“We’re looking right in that range,” Eberflus said. “We’ll see. But again, it’s always week to week because you have to see what the health of your line is and where everybody is at.”
As for the willingness of Bears veterans to play more in the preseason to both aid Williams’ growth and to establish a rhythm in coordinator Shane Waldron’s new offense, receiver DJ Moore wasn’t exactly raising his hand, making a disinterested face at the suggestion.
Kmet was a bit more diplomatic with his response.
“Are we willing? They pay us. So we’ve got to do whatever they want us to do,” he said. “That’s kind of how that works.
“Look, we want to have a successful season and we trust the coaches that they have a good plan. They’ve been thinking about all of this for quite a while now. Whatever plan they have laid out for us for the preseason, whether it’s in practices or games, we’re going to be all for. When they say ‘Jump!’ we’re going to have to say, ‘How high?’
4. Rookie offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and tight end Gerald Everett were placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list.
Amegadjie is still rehabilitating after the surgery he had in October to repair a torn quadriceps tendon. The third-round pick out of Yale won’t be ready for the Bears’ first practice Saturday morning and will continue working to get back in the mix.
“We love his work ethic,” Poles said. “That’s one of the reasons he’s here. He’s progressing. Everything is positive. But I don’t have a specific timetable (for his return).”
As of Friday afternoon, the Bears hadn’t specified what Everett’s issue was. But it registered as a notable and surprising development for the 30-year-old tight end who signed a two-year, $12 million deal to join the Bears in March.
