10 takeaways from first padded practice at Bears training camp

The Chicago Bears conducted their first padded practice of training camp on Tuesday, where they welcomed fans back to Halas Hall.

The intensity was kicked up a notch as the guys in the trenches finally got to start hitting. But, once again, it was the Bears defense that won the day. The offense had its moments, but they still have a ways to go. Luckily, we’re just six practices into the summer.

There was plenty to take in from practice and press conferences with special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, offensive tackle Braxton Jones, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, quarterback Trevor Siemian and defensive end Robert Quinn.

Following Tuesday’s practice, here’s a look at what we learned from the first padded practice of Bears training camp:

The offense remains a work in progress

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The Bears put on pads for the first time this summer on Tuesday, but it wasn’t the strong showing they were hoping for. It’s clear that the offense is still a work in progress, which is to be expected just six practices, including one with pads, into the summer.

The seven-on-seven drill was especially brutal. The first-team offense had back-to-back three-and-outs, where quarterback Justin Fields completed just one pass. Fields had three straight incompletions — two to Byron Pringle and he overthrew a wide open N’Keal Harry in the end zone.

With that said, it’s too early to start worrying about the offense. The team just held their first padded practice, and they’re perfecting the nuances of the offense. If this is still happening in a couple of weeks, then it should be cause for concern.

But they had their moments in the goal line drill

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The Bears opened the goal-line drill with a botched snap and a false start, which are things that have plagued the offense in these first practices. But after that rough start, the offense excelled inside the five-yard line.

Chicago scored three straight touchdowns, including one from Justin Fields to Darnell Mooney and two on the ground.

Unfortunately, that strong outing was followed up by a rough seven-on-seven team drill. But the offense has had its moments this summer.

That said, Jaylon Johnson doesn't think the defense has lost a day yet

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What’s bad for the offense has been good for the defense, which is exactly what cornerback Jaylon Johnson wants. He said it’s what both units need to get ready for the start of the season.

The Bears put on pads for the first time on Tuesday, which makes it easier to evaluate players. With that said, Johnson believes the defensive backs were already bringing the intensity before the pads went on. But Johnson did praise the guys upfront.

“The front seven really brought the energy,” he said.

The defense has been the standout unit over the last few practices. But if you ask Johnson, the defense hasn’t lost a day yet.

“They get happy after they score a touchdown after a sack, but…” he said.

Interesting developments at offensive tackle

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The offensive line has been its own sideshow this summer as there are plenty of moving parts that change on the daily. Tuesday was no different, and it featured a new combination of tackles.

Rookie Braxton Jones took every single first-team rep at left tackle on Tuesday. Meanwhile, veteran Riley Reiff was working at right tackle, where he split reps with Larry Borom. That’s the first practice where Borom hasn’t been the exclusive right tackle.

But, as we’ve seen this summer, Matt Eberflus hasn’t been shy when it comes to mixing things up.

“Just because I’m running with the ones doesn’t mean anything changes,” Jones said.

Elsewhere on the line, veteran Michael Schofield was taking first-team reps at right guard while Sam Mustipher remained at center with Lucas Patrick sidelined indefinitely.

Bears mixed things up at cornerback again

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Matt Eberflus has made it clear that they’re mixing up different combinations at different positions. While the offensive line has been the focal point, we’re starting to get a glimpse of it with the cornerbacks.

On Monday, it was Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor on the outside with rookie Kyler Gordon at nickel cornerback with the first team. Gordon has been rotating between outside and inside throughout the summer.

Usually, when Gordon is on the outside, it’s been veteran Tavon Young in the slot. But Eberflus switched things up again on Tuesday. It was Johnson and Gordon on the outside with Vildor in the slot.

Expect to see more shifting between different groupings until the Bears find what combination of players works best.

False starts continue to be a problem

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The offense has struggled with false starts so far in training camp, and that continued on Tuesday. Backup quarterback Trevor Siemian spoke to why that’s the case.

“We’ve got a ton of cadences and I think we’re in the process of mastering all those,” he said.

The offense still has plenty to clean up. It’s something that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been getting on his guys about. With that said, Siemian would rather have mistakes happening now compared to the regular season.

Al-Quadin Muhammad dominated in first day of pads

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Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad is coming off an impressive practice where he notched around what would’ve been three sacks on quarterback Justin Fields. And that was without pads.

So when the pads finally came on Tuesday, Muhammad was definitely someone to watch. Once again, Muhammad was bringing pressure on Fields, one which resulted in a throw away and the other a sack on third down.

Muhammad has one goal for the 2022 season: Wreak havoc on the quarterback.

“Get to the quarterback and hit the quarterback as many times as I can,” Muhammad said. “That’s pretty much it. I don’t really have a particular number, just do it as many times as I can do it.”

So far, he’s been showing that in camp.

Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker are surprising Johnson more than he expected

Through the first six practices of camp, it’s been the rookies stealing the show. Particularly, Chicago’s top selections cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker.

Both have a nose for the football, and they’ve made some big plays working with the starting defense. While veteran Jaylon Johnson knew they would be good, even he admitted they’re exceeding his expectations.

“Honestly they’re surprising me a lot more than I would expect,” Johnson.

Johnson has been impressed with Brisker’s mindset and desire for success. But he singled out Gordon for learning two different positions and handling it with ease.

“That’s not an easy position, single-handedly, to learn,” Johnson said. “But for him to initially come in and learn the corner, then transition to more of that nickel back, it just shows his IQ of the game, shows his learning ability, being coachable.”

It's too early to tell who will be returning punts, kickoffs

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The Bears have a mostly new roster following the departure of more than half their roster over the offseason. Which has left some positions on special teams up for grabs, namely punt and kickoff returners.

While Khalil Herbert handled kickoff duties last year, he’ll have a more prominent role on offense this season. So it’s hard to imagine him playing a significant role on special teams.

On Tuesday’s practice, the Bears had four wide receivers — Velus Jones Jr., Dazz Newsome, Chris Finke and Dante Pettis — returning punts. Once again, Safety Eddie Jackson was the fifth guy taking punts, perhaps an indication we could see him at times returning punts.

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said it’s took early to tell who will be returning punts and kickoffs, but he explained that those jobs are up for grabs.

“I’m not handing out any jobs,” he said. “I’m letting guys compete.”

As noted above, four of those five players returning punts are wide receivers, three of which are on the roster bubble heading into the season. Hightower said that special teams experience could factor into determining which roster bubble guys land a roster spot, especially in a wide-open receiving corp.

Attendance report

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If you predicted that Teven Jenkins would be a no-show once again, you would be correct. Jenkins missed his fifth straight practice of the summer as he “works through something with trainers,” per Eberflus.

Safety Dane Cruikshank was activated off the non-football injury (NFI) list on Tuesday morning, and he was back on the practice field working at safety with the second-team.

Elsewhere, cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. remains sidelined with a hamstring injury that Eberflus noted would take a little longer to come back from. Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson, tight end Chase Allen and rookie linebacker Christian Albright were also sidelined.

Linebacker Roquan Smith remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

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Story originally appeared on Bears Wire