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1st & North: Will the Bears focus on getting starters preseason playing time?
Caleb Williams didn't play in the Hall of Fame Game. He may not play Saturday. Lou Canellis talks about what needs to happen for Bears starters to get playing time in the preseason.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears had a lighter day in preparation for Saturday, but plenty of players still shined.
Most of those players were in the Bears' secondary.
Here's what happened Thursday during training camp practice at Halas Hall as the Bears prepared for their second preseason game.
A stellar afternoon for the secondary
The secondary was the star on Thursday. The unit as a whole intercepted three of Caleb Williams' passes on Thursday.
The first was Jaylon Johnson grabbing a pass that Keenan Allen bobbled in the 7-on-7 period. Allen juggled it up, and Johnson took advantage of the moment and snagged the pass.
After that, Elijah Hicks intercepted a pass Williams tried to force a throw to Allen in the 11-on-11 period. It was a pass that should not have gotten thrown, and Hicks made him pay.
The last one was in the two-minute drill, where Williams tried to connect with Gerald Everett. The throw was a hair off, just about a half second late, and safety Kevin Byard undercut the pass and intercepted it.
This was all with Jaquan Brisker, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon not participating in practices. The second-team defensive backs – Hicks, Josh Blackwell and Jaylon Jones – have filled in well.
That's a good sign for a Bears defense that's already good. Having talented players behind the stars gives the team depth that will help late in games and late in the season.
It wasn't a perfect day. In the 11-on-11 period, the defensive line jumped offsides and gave the offense a free play. Nsimba Webster toasted his defender for a long gain down the sideline.
Outside of a few plays, the secondary was on point.
Edmunds relishes return to Buffalo
In the second week of the preaseason, the Bears will travel to Buffalo and take on the Bills.
Tremaine Edmunds had not been back to Buffalo after leaving the Bills to join the Bears during the 2023 offseason.
Edmunds expects some emotions to hit when he gets back to Buffalo for the first time. But, he doesn't think nostalgia will be the most outstanding emotion he'll feel when he gets back to Orchard Park.
"I think excitement, man," Edmunds said. "I was there for five years, so just getting back there now, the biggest is going to be excitement."
Edmunds played for the Bills for five seasons after they selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. He made the Pro Bowl as a Bill in 2019 and 2020.
Edmunds recorded 565 tackles across his five years in Buffalo. After not making the playoffs in his rookie season, Edmunds played in the playoffs from 2019 to 2022.
Plenty of pundits expect the Bears to contend for a playoff spot now with a rising defense that Edmunds helps pilot. However, Edmunds said the team shouldn't pay attention to those expectations.
Instead, the team needs to expect success as a whole.
"Obviously, everybody's going to put expectations on us," Edmunds said. "At the end of the day, man, we go to take it one step at a time because it's going to be up, it's going to be down. That's just the way the league goes. I mean, it's really just going out there expecting to win. If any expectations, that should be expectations to go win. But everything else, that we can't control."
LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Tremaine Edmunds #49 of the Chicago Bears stretches during the Chicago Bears mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall on June 05, 2024 in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Thursday's standouts
Brenden Bates
One of the players that we've never really talked about is Bates, the undrafted free agent out of Kentucky.
In the tight end room, the Bears have Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis. Behind them are Tommy Sweeney, Stephen Carlson and Bates. Bates makes the plays ahead of him. He did the same in the Hall of Fame Game, catching two passes for 47 yards on two targets.
The Bears' tight end room is deep. But Bates has shown he's got a penchant for taking care of business.
Elijah Hicks
The third-year player out of Cal-Berkley had two moments in a row on Thursday.
In the 11-on-11 period, Williams was looking to Keenan Allen and forced a throw to Allen. Hicks intercepted the forced throw. He came back the very next play and broke up a pass across the middle.
Hicks almost intercepted the pass. He got one hand on it and almost hauled it in, too. He flew in from the left side of the field to break up the pass, displaying instincts to go with his football IQ.
Thursday's Bears injury report
There were the usual non-participants on Thursday.
Roschon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Collin Johnson, Bryan Cowart, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Montez Sweat and Nate Davis did not participate.
After practicing last week, Noah Sewell didn't participate.
Eberflus said Davis suffered a setback and is now week-to-week after re-aggravating a strain he suffered on July 27. Davis returned to practice Sunday, but left after re-aggravating his injury.
Eberflus said Gordon's status is not a concern.
"It’s a work in progress," he said of Gordon. "We’re gettin close. We feel good where he is."