The Bears conducted their ninth training camp practice and fourth in pads Saturday at Halas Hall. Here's what transpired:
The Bears closed Saturday's workout with several end-of-game situations.
In one, the offense trailed by six points with under one minute remaining. Quarterback Caleb Williams sustained the drive by completing a 25-yard pass over the middle to receiver Rome Odunze on fourth-and-15 to the 21-yard line with :03 to play.
"[Williams] is doing a better job of understanding the situation, what's going on," said offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. "We're trying to get into range so that we have another shot at the end of the game. They're playing like sideline defense. He did a good job of hanging in on the read. He was able to throw the dagger in there behind that defender. We were able to get down and get into a position where we give ourselves a chance to win the game."
The next time Williams touched the ball, the offense was down 27-21 with :24 left. On first down from the opponent's 17, he eluded a blitz, sprinted to his right and lofted a TD pass to tight end Cole Kmet in the corner of the end zone.
"That's what you watched at USC," Doyle said. "His ability to evade. The arm talent. Things like that. We're in a situation there, late in the game that we're simulating, that he's able to evade the rush, he finds his way outside to the right and finds Cole Kmet in the back right corner.
"I think it shows his competitiveness. The best thing he does is the unscripted stuff, the two-minute stuff where he's able to go out and really play and show the competitiveness that makes him who he is."
On the final play of practice, with the offense at the 10-yard line and :13 remaining in a 10-10 tie, cornerback Nahshon Wright jumped a slant route to receiver DJ Moore and intercepted Williams' pass in the end zone.
"Teaching moment," Doyle said. "That's one of those things. He missed behind with the throw and that is an area we're going to watch on film. We'll get it corrected, and we won't make the same mistake twice."
Flipping a switch
Throughout training camp, Williams has been at his best in two-minute drills.
"His competitiveness comes out in those two-minute situations," Doyle said. "That's where he has an edge. He's not going to allow you to sack him. He's going to evade. He's going to do things that you can't really teach at times."
"The great ones, they want the ball in their hand, and you can tell Caleb wants the ball in his hand in those moments," said backup quarterback Case Keenum. "Two minute is a drill where you can rely on guts and instincts, your past training, and who's a competitor. There are certain guys when the lights turn on, that switch just flips and he's got that switch where he can turn it on, and I can't wait to watch it at Soldier Field and all over the league this year."
Friendly target
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland continued to excel, catching a frozen rope from Williams down the seam for a touchdown and hauling in a TD pass from Keenum in the right corner of the end zone.
"He's friendly to throw to," Keenum said. "He's got good body language. There's that non-verbal communication that lets the quarterback know that he knows where the ball is and should be and has good body position in relation to defenders. And then based on what route it is, knows when to be open in a lot of ways.
"From a big, tall guy like that, it's really nice to be able to go to a lot of different personnels with him and Cole [Kmet], both very friendly targets that I think defenses will have issues with when they decide to go man: who to put the linebacker on, who to put the safety on. Creates a lot of mismatches for us."
Competitive nature
Keenum is enjoying the competition with third-year pro Tyson Bagent for the No. 2 spot behind Williams.
"It's been great," said Keenum, who has passed for 15,175 yards and 79 TDs in 12 NFL seasons with the Texans (2013-14, 2023), Rams (2015-16), Vikings (2017), Broncos (2018), Commanders (2019), Browns (2020-21) and Bills (2022).
"I think Tyson's having a really, really good camp. He's made a step forward from the spring. He's picking up this offense excellent. He is sharp. He is really, really smart. We try to 'Stump the Schwab' with him in there in the QB room. Him and Austin [Reed] and Caleb, we try to stump each other and man, we can't ever get him. He knows the playbook like the back of his hand. I've been very impressed with him.
"He's athletic and haven't even really seen him probably do what he's really, really good at in escaping the rush, making plays outside the pocket. During practice, it's been a lot of within-the-pocket, within-the-timing-of-the-play, making some really accurate plays down the field. I think he's going to play a long time in this league."
Even after more than a decade in the league, Keenum still feels a competitive fire.
"I'm competitive by nature," he said. "If it's ping pong in the locker room, if it's Uno with my family, I'm trying to win no matter what. I feel the fire of competition with whatever I'm doing. I've been competing with myself forever. That's who I am. That's what made me who I am. That's what's gotten me here today. Every day I step on the field, I compete with myself, I compete with those guys, and I hope that brings out the fire in them as well."
Great dynamic
Doyle lauded the rapport the quarterbacks have developed with each other.
"They all mesh really well together," he said. "It's a group that likes being around each other. The room itself is fun to be in. Caleb is progressing. Case provides that veteran leadership, and he's got skins on the wall. He's been in a bunch of different systems, and he feels like a coach when you're in there sitting with him. He's able to provide a lot of perspective. And Tyson is very hungry. Football's the most important thing [to him].
"It's a great dynamic. It's a great room. They're very open to learning and correcting their mistakes."
Amazing journey
No one on the Bears roster is more grateful to be in the NFL than Bagent, who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after starring at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia.
"I think my journey, especially since I've gotten here, it's been nothing short of amazing," Bagent said. "I'm extremely blessed to be in the situation I'm in. I could sit here and start bawling my eyes out. But I'm absolutely beside myself every day that I wake up that this is what I get to do.
"And especially with how everything has unfolded, how ready I feel right now, being gifted with this amazing staff, it just seems like things oddly enough keep working out in my favor. I'm full steam ahead and really grateful and excited for everything."
Bagent sees first-year coach Ben Johnson as a kindred spirit.
"Really for me, it's simple: there's no BSing going on right now," Bagent said. "I like to have as much fun as I possibly can outside of this building, but when I'm here, I'm pretty much [thinking], 'What are we going to do today, what are we going to accomplish?' And looking at him, whether it's getting a play from him, talking to him between plays, he's right there with me intensity-wise, which is all you can ask for from a head coach."
