First takes from Caleb Williams and more from the first day of Chicago Bears rookie camp
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Welcome, Caleb Williams.
The Chicago Bears' first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft met with the media and threw his first passes in a Bears uniform Friday.
Plus, there were other notable developments, too.
Here are some first impressions from the first day of rookie mini camp at Halas Hall:
Caleb Williams finds a way to impress
Williams was named the Bears' starting quarterback on Friday by head coach Matt Eberflus.
Williams, at that point, had not thrown a pass in a Bears uniform yet.
He did Friday afternoon. He completed 16 of his 20 pass attempts on the afternoon during the Bears' seven-on-seven drills.
There was no pass rush, but Williams still got to show off his ability to make plays off the cuff and his connection with Rome Odunze.
Williams alternated with undrafted free agent Austin Reed. Williams threw in four sections. In the second section of throws, Williams completed four of his five throws.
One of those throws was an off-script play where Williams rolled to his right and fired a pass between multiple defenders to Odunze. That's the kind of play that made Williams special at Oklahoma and USC.
Furthermore, Williams already showed a connection with Odunze that's shown the work the duo did prior to arriving at Halas Hall is starting to pay off.
Defensive standout Leon Jones
Williams and Odunze weren't the only ones taking advantage of mini camp.
Rookie tryout cornerback Leon Jones had a great day. He had a tip-drill interception off an Austin Reed throw, and defended a Williams pass to Odunze with a quick close out on an out route.
Jones, an Arkansas State product, celebrated down the sidelines after recording the only takeaway on the day during seven-on-seven drills.
The new kickoff rules are strange
Announced in March, the NFL adopted new kickoff rules. The Bears practiced those in rookie camp Friday, and they were strange to see.
According to the NFL, the new kickoff rules state every player on the kicking team, other than the kicker, will line up with at least one foot on the returning team's 40-yard line.
No player, aside from than the kicker and the returners, can move until the ball is fielded by a returner.
Watching it live was an adjustment. Seeing in a live game will be even more of an adjustment.
Kiran Amegadjie will not practice
Eberflus announced before mini camp began that third round selection Kiran Amegadjie will not practice in mini camp this weekend.
Amegadjie is still recovering from his quad injury he suffered in his final year at Yale, but that's something the Bears' coaching staff knew about going into rookie minicamp.
"He won't be available to practice pretty much all through the off season," Eberflus said. "We knew about this injury, this quad injury that he had."
The expectation is that Amegadjie will be ready for training camp.
"We want to get that process in terms of the whole rehab and everything," Eberflus said. "He's healthy for training camp, so that's where he's gonna be."
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