The Bears conducted their 10th training camp practice and fifth in pads Sunday. It was held inside the Walter Payton Center due to lightning and heavy rain. Here's what transpired:
New Bears safety Xavier Woods made his presence known, intercepting a deep Caleb Williams pass and delivering a jarring hit that knocked tight end Colston Loveland to the ground after a short reception.
With injuries impacting their secondary, the Bears signed Woods on Friday. He has played in 134 NFL games with 121 starts over eight seasons with the Cowboys (2017-20), Vikings (2021), Panthers (2022-24) and Titans (2025), compiling 660 tackles, 15 interceptions, 50 pass breakups, five forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
Last season, Woods appeared in 11 games with 10 starts for Tennessee, compiling 39 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups. His position coach in Dallas in 2020 was Bears defensive backs coach/defensive passing game coordinator Al Harris.
"He's a veteran player," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "He's played a lot of football. He's been in a few different schemes. He's been a productive player. Al had him in Dallas, so there's some familiarity there with him. Right now, we needed another veteran piece back there in the back end, specifically, at the safety position. I'm anxious to watch him come out here and compete."
A day at camp
Williams' best passes of the day came on a long throw with perfect touch across the field to Rome Odunze and on a deep post route to a wide-open Jahdae Walker for a touchdown.
Second-year linebacker Ruben Hyppolite produced two impact plays, both in pass coverage. First, the speedy 2025 fourth-round pick dropped running back Kyle Monangai after a short reception and later tackled Loveland along the line of scrimmage just shy of a first down after a quick pass on fourth-and-1.
Receiver Kaden Davis flashed speed and playmaking ability, catching a Case Keenum pass over the middle, turning upfield and racing for a TD. One of the first players to celebrate with Davis was Williams, who sprinted about 50 yards to greet him. Davis, who signed with the Bears in mid-June, has stood out in camp.
Ascending rookie
Rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg continues to impress. The sixth-round pick grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, moved to the United States when he was 10 and didn't start playing football until he was a sophomore in high school.
"He's another guy that's really taken to the coaching," Allen said. "He plays with great pad level. He can get in a good stance and come off and strike the line of scrimmage, and he's got some pretty good football instincts and plays extremely hard."
Van den Berg spent five seasons at Penn State (2021-23) and Georgia Tech (2024-25), appearing in 54 games and recording 93 tackles, 20.0 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. Last year, he established career highs with 44 tackles, 11.0 tackles-for-loss and 3.0 sacks.
"A lot of the things that we saw on the tape at Georgia Tech, we're seeing a lot of those same athletic qualities show up and I think that's what training camp is all about," Allen said. "You have to let the guys go out there and compete and you have to trust what you're seeing. When you start off with the threes and then all of a sudden you show up and you catch our attention, then we've got to find ways to get you some reps with the twos. And if you continue to catch our attention, then we've got to find some ways to get you some reps with the ones because that's really how you evaluate what you have in the player.
"It's one thing to say you can play really good against the third group, but can you take that same level with the twos and with the ones? I think any time a guy does well, catches our attention, he earns the opportunity to get more opportunities."
While most defensive tackles line up in a three-point stance, van den Berg begins plays with both hands on the ground.
"How many hands you have on the ground I don't think is the biggest deal," Allen said. "The biggest thing is the get off and how can you get your center of gravity moving forward? How can you get off on the snap count? And how can you maintain leverage throughout the down, whether that be in the run game or the passing game?
"We've seen the more square you can be and the more you can load in your stance, the more explosive you become. The squareness of the stance matters probably more so in the running game, and so I think that's where they get down and they get in their stance. We really don't teach a four-point stance, but we want both hands where our shoulders are square. I think when you're in a four-point stance that some guys just feel more comfortable that way."
