Bears Training Camp: Williams' Best Day? Sweat's Versatility, Center Battle, Pads on Friday, More (2024)

The Chicago Bears returned to Halas Hall for their fourth summer training camp practice on Tuesday morning.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had his best practice so far, showing great chemistry with receiver Tyler Scott. The two connected on a deep completion for roughly 30-35 yards. The defense again outperformed the offense during the two-minute drill, and defensive end Jacob Martin made some notable plays.

Receiver Keenan Allen and tight end Marcedes Lewis did not practice, as they were given veteran rest days.

Caleb Williams’ Day

The Bears rookie quarterback will have his own subheading in almost all of these camp reports, and why shouldn’t he? He’s the franchise’s future, and his development is the main storyline of this training camp.

I mentioned the Tyler Scott deep-ball, but that was just part of what some called Caleb Williams‘ best day of camp. Cassie Carlson called Williams “decisive” on Tuesday.

Despite Williams’ otherwise solid day, the defense stopped the first-team offense on the two-minute drill on Tuesday, an early trend in camp. Williams and the offense took the ball at 1:20, had one timeout, and had the ball on their own 40.

Here are the details on the defense’s stop from NBC Sports’ Josh Schrock:

Williams opened the drive with a 9-yard completion to DeAndre Carter and a 3-yard hook-up to Collin Johnson to move the sticks. A 4-yard completion to running back Khalil Herbert set up a second-and-6 at the opposing 45.

Edge rusher Jacob Martin blew past right tackle Darnell Wright for what could have been a sack, but Williams stepped up and took off for a 16-yard scramble. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was also flagged for holding on the play to set the offense up at the 24.

Williams then hit Rome Odunze over the middle for a gain of 10 and then found Carter for 7 to get the offense inside the 10 with under 30 seconds to go.

Then, the Bears’ defense buckled down.

On second-and-3, rookie Austin Booker got quick pressure, and Williams’ pass to Herbert fell incomplete. On third down, Williams dropped back and tried to thread the needle to Odunze in the back corner of the end zone, but Stevenson jumped the route and got a hand on the pass to break it up.

With 16 seconds left, Williams and the offense faced a fourth and three from the 7. Williams dropped back and saw tight end Cole Kmet come open over the middle in the end zone. Williams let it rip toward his tight end, but linebacker Tremaine Edmunds closed fast and broke the pass up to win the drill for the defense.

Montez Sweat Working on Versatility

When players and coaches reported to Halas Hall last Friday to open training camp, Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus acknowledged the lack of a clear starting option opposite Montez Sweat on the defensive line. Four days into camp, it appears they have a solution to their problem: move Sweat over there.

Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said today that the team wants to use Sweat in a variety of ways on the defensive line rather than only on one end.

“We want flexibility where we can align him,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said Tuesday after the team’s fourth training camp practice. “We want to utilize his skillset against the offensive line — not just specific to one position.”

Washington said that strategy will include playing Sweat on both sides of the line and even lining him up at tackle in certain situations. While Sweat has played all but 75 of his 3.395 career snaps lined up on the outside, Washington believes he can easily make the transition.

“What we’re doing defensively is different than what he’s done in his career,” Washington said. “There’s some different subtleties and different things. He’s a quick study. He’s paying attention. He’s picking things up. … He’s not hesitant … to ask questions and to say, ‘Listen, I want to get this right. What does this mean to me? How does it fit into the overall construct?’”

Well, that’s … something.

I’m okay with the Bears wanting to move Sweat around the line to accomplish a specific goal of a particular down and distance, so long as he’s comfortable with it, but that can’t be the plan in place of adding a legitimate pass rusher opposite Sweat.

Eberflus: Battle at Center Will Run Into Pads, At Least

Friday will be the first day the Bears strap on the pads for practice at Halas Hall. That’s a big checkpoint in this process, as it’s the beginning of the actual evaluation period for position battles, like the one the Bears currently have at center between Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates.

Shelton was the starter today. Bates yesterday. The two have split the first-team reps in the early days of camp, and head coach Matt Eberflus expects that to continue into the pads portion of camp.

“I told the guys today, ‘You make the team or you make your position in pads,’” saidBearshead coachMatt Eberflus. “It’s hard to evaluate guys when we’re out here and not in pads. The pass protection is hard. The pass rush is hard to really evaluate if a guy can bore around the corner or if he can really protect against the bull rush.”

Letting this position battle drag into the preseason portion of camp wouldn’t be ideal. In a perfect world, one would win the battle sooner rather than later so that Williams can begin taking snaps from the starting center he will be working with when the Bears travel to Nashville in Week 1. It would also help the other interior offensive lineman get used to their movements and tendencies.

For now, Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron says that there are benefits for the offensive when it comes to Shelton and Bates splitting first-team reps:

“From an adjustment standpoint I think it’s good for all the quarterbacks to have an understanding of what the little nuances are from one center to the next,” said Waldron. “Knowing every play starts out with that exchange right there and how important ball security is and the turnover margin is and the turnover margin is in this league, to know I can adjust in the game if something’s off a little bit no matter what the center is, no matter who’s playing.”

This and That from Bears Training Camp