The Chicago Bears returned to the practice field Thursday morning at Halas Hall following the first off day of training camp for an 85-minute practice, which leads into the first session in full pads Friday.
Here’s a rundown from the practice and the news conferences afterward.
Player in the spotlight
Tyrique Stevenson was the most targeted cornerback in the NFL last season — his 116 were seven more than anyone else at the position — and with teammate Jaylon Johnson back on a four-year, $76 million extension, that trend might continue this season.
Stevenson believes he will be better prepared after being tested often in 2023. He made a nice play in practice, breaking up a sidearm throw from Caleb Williams intended for Keenan Allen in a red-zone team period.
“It was a hard pill to swallow coming from being one of the dominant corners in college then just coming here and giving up passes, giving up deep balls, giving up stuff that I normally do not give up,” he said. “Looking back on it, I just take those examples and teach myself not to do those examples and teach myself to be in a better position and use my hands and use my feet. You know, look at the quarterback. Read three steps. So just taking those and stacking them and learning them and just keep pushing forward.”
The Miami product knew it was coming last season. All rookies are tested, and with Johnson ascending, it was natural that opposing quarterbacks would look Stevenson’s way. The volume was eye-popping some weeks. In consecutive games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, Stevenson was targeted 30 times. In comparison, Johnson was targeted 58 times in 14 games.
While the 70 receptions Stevenson allowed were most among cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Reference, you have to consider the volume of targets. He allowed a completion percentage of 60.3% — a fine figure for a rookie. The reason opponents had a 93.7 passer rating was because he was considered responsible for nine touchdowns, only two of which came in the final seven games.
His confidence never waned, and he developed. Not only did he do a better job of keeping opponents out of the end zone, all four of his interceptions came in the final six games. Stevenson’s 13 pass breakups led all rookie defenders. Of course, the more targets he got, the easier it was to add some PBUs, but it was definitely arrow up for him as the season progressed and he cleaned some things up.
Early in the season, Stevenson was guilty of being caught peeking in the backfield. He talked about details of footwork and eye discipline and knows he will have a better feel for nuances of the pro game.
“I worked my whole offseason calling coach (Jon) Hoke and asking him certain questions about this receiver or, ‘If they motion here, how many possibilities could I get?’ And just going back and forth with him about it,” Stevenson said.
Caleb Williams watch
The best throw of the day for the rookie came in an early 7-on-7 red-zone period when he dropped a perfect ball into the hands of Velus Jones Jr., who was running a corner route. It was perfectly placed, and Jones was able to just get his feet inbounds. The 11-on-11 periods were not as fruitful. Defensive end Montez Sweat swiped the ball out of Williams’ grasp in a red-zone drill. The offense failed to get a first down with two shots at an end-of-half scenario in which it was first down at the 50-yard line with 50 seconds on the clock and one timeout.
Bogging things down were a handful of false starts on the offense.
“It’s harder in the red zone because things are shorter, it’s condensed and it’s just harder to execute down there,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “So, windows are tighter. We’re going to have to learn what those are. 7-on-7 was good but once we got into team, it was more fast paced, you can feel the rush. It’s just about going through the process of that.”
Eberflus said the team has talked about the possibility of Williams playing against the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio.
“Had lengthy conversations about it during that (Wednesday) personnel meeting,” Eberflus said. “Had it with the coordinators before that. Been talking to (GM) Ryan (Poles). So, we’ll make a good decision here soon.”
Eberflus would be bucking a leaguewide trend if Williams were to play. The last No. 1 quarterback to start in that game was Teddy Bridgewater for the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. Team just don’t want to see the player at the most important position banged up in what’s an extra exhibition game.
News of the day
Photos: Gymnast Simone Biles and the U.S. Gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics
Safety Jonathan Owens, who projects as the team’s top backup at the position, will leave for the Olympics in Paris after practice Monday to watch his wife, gymnast Simone Biles, compete. He said he would miss one full practice as well as the team’s preseason game against the Texans but will be dialed into meetings, which are recorded.
Quote of note
“It’s been good. They’ve been out of the way. You can barely notice them. Players have talked to me about that. Yeah, it’s been a lot less than we thought. That’s kind of how it was when I had it before in my career. They do a really good job staying back, staying out of the way and getting their stuff they need. It’s been really good so far.” — Eberflus on the presence of NFL Films cameras in practice and meeting rooms for “Hard Knocks”
Seen and heard
Backup cornerback Jaylon Jones did a nice job of tracking the larger Collin Johnson on a double move during a red-zone drill. Reserve nickel cornerback Josh Blackwell had a nice run fit to stop Travis Homer on a blitz during the team period. Blackwell also deflected a Caleb Williams throw for Homer, so it was an eventful practice for him. Coleman Shelton was running with the second team at center. He looked good climbing to the second level on multiple plays.
Stevenson on veteran wide receivers Keenan Allen and DJ Moore: “Keenan’s a magician,” he said. “Just the fact that he can stop midroute, change his whole route or just the fact that he gives you something different than what you’re expecting. He might break inside but he’s just doing that just to see on the next play how he can get you on a route that’s coming to him. DJ’s just going to be DJ. DJ gonna run a route and you’re not gonna stop it.”
Injury report
Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon was not spotted during practice. Eberflus said he had some “tightness” during Tuesday’s practice. Suffice to say, it sounds like a soft-tissue injury. Linebacker Noah Sewell remained an onlooker. Left tackle Braxton Jones got a good chunk of the work with the starters, but Larry Borom was still mixed in. Even though Jones didn’t get all the reps in a practice with no pads, it sounds as if he has a chance to be going at it when the pads come on Friday.
“That’s our anticipation,” Eberflus said. “I think he came out of practice OK.”
