For the second straight day, the Bears held a non-contact practice that was open to the media Thursday at Halas Hall. Here's what transpired:
Rookie running back Kyle Monangai provided a highlight late in practice with a long run that he punctuated with a nifty juke move.
"Great run," said veteran running back D'Andre Swift. "Great vision. Got through clean. Scored. I was happy for him. Great play. Way to end it."
Monangai was selected by the Bears in the seventh round of the draft out of Rutgers, where he rushed for 3,221 yards and 27 touchdowns in five seasons. The 5-8, 211-pounder was named first-team All-Big Ten last year after running for a career high 1,279 yards, his second straight season eclipsing 1,200 yards.
"Great addition," Swift said. "He doesn't really lack anything from what I'm seeing. Confident in his style of play, real low to the ground, great catching the ball out of the backfield. Solid, real solid."
Energy guy
Thrilled to be back after missing the final 12 games last year with a concussion, safety Jaquan Brisker makes his presence known at practice before the ball is even snapped for the first time.
"We all know he's an energy guy," said fellow safety Kevin Byard III. "We started off practice, he's screaming. That's how he is. Early in the morning, 8:30. He just has this certain aura, this energy that I love about him. He's going to bring the juice and be who he is going to be every single day. That's what I love about him. Every single day, he's the same person. And he's a heck of a football player. I mean, let's not get it twisted. I know he had the concussion last year. But the first five games he was on a tear. So I'm expecting the same things from him this year."
Pushed to compete
With coach and offensive play-caller Ben Johnson facing veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in practice, the intensity level has been high.
"When you combine Ben Johnson and DA, everybody's getting pushed to compete every single day," Byard said. "That's just the message starting every single meeting: don't apologize for competing. At every position group—no matter if you're in Year 10 like myself or somebody that's going to be a rookie—we're all out here competing and trying to make each other better."
Byard told reporters that Johnson "breathes competition" and his energy "raises the level of everybody on the team." It's all part of the coach's pursuit of excellence.
"We're trying to win the Super Bowl," Byard said. "Ben Johnson wants to build a dynasty. We want to be the guys who get this thing started. I want to be one of the guys who kind of builds the foundation of that and continue to go as long as we possibly can. That's the goal, but we have a long way to go to be able to accomplish that."
Injury update
Johnson characterized rookie receiver Luther Burden III as day-to-day with an injury that has sidelined the second-round pick since May.
"We were very hopeful that he'd be ready to go Day 1 [of training camp]," Johnson said. "But the soft-tissue [injury] that he was dealing with there in the springtime lingered a little bit longer than we wanted."
Asked when he anticipates Burden will return, Johnson said: "I'm hopeful it's just a few days. We're saying day-to-day right now. Sometimes those soft tissues, you can't predict. Everyone's a little bit different. Some guys take longer than others."
Despite being unable to practice, Burden is still actively preparing for his first NFL season.
"Everything that our training staff is telling us we can do physically, we're utilizing," Johnson said. "I know coach [Antwaan] Randle El has been all over him in meetings, keeping him involved. He's being quizzed nonstop. Our quarterbacks are taking him to the side, whether it's walkthroughs or on their own. He's utilizing that time as much as he can, but there's really no substitute for full-speed reps and so the sooner we get him out there, the quicker he can carve a role for himself."
Johnson added that rookie defensive end Shemar Turner sustained an ankle injury in Wednesday's practice that is being evaluated, while rookie cornerback Zah Frazier was excused from Thursday's workout due to personal reasons.
Rite of passage
The up-downs the defense did at the outset of the first training camp practice Wednesday apparently was a one-time thing.
Allen likened it to paying a toll because joining the defense is a privilege. Byard provided more context Thursday, explaining that all players must do 40 up-downs as a rite of passage.
"It was different," Byard said. "It kind of took me back to high school. It's special to me just because of I think the way 'DA' puts it to us is like you've got to pay the toll. It's a buy-in. It's almost like it's an initiation and it's special."
First-year cornerback Alex Cook discovered that Thursday when he re-signed with the Bears and practiced for the first time since being waived Tuesday.
"He flew back into town and to start practice we all circled around him and he did his up-downs," Byard said. "I kind of felt bad watching him do it by himself, but at the same time, that's just one of those deals, an initiation to this defense. Once he finished, everybody was like, 'welcome to the defense,' and we got on with practice."
It appears that no defensive player will be exempt from the up-downs regardless of when they join the Bears.
"If we get to Week 15 and we sign a guy, he's going to do 40 up-downs, which is going to be tough," Byard said. "But that's just what it is. That's the type of family atmosphere that DA is creating for this defense."
