The 2022 Bears training camp will be remembered most for the Roquan Smith hold-in and the injuries that struck a pair of already questionable position groups, wide receiver and offensive line.
Those weren’t the headlines that general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus wanted in their first Bears camp, but without many “stars” of camp, it became easy to remember who was on the sideline.
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The final weeks, though, presented the franchise with optimism, including Teven Jenkins’ potential revelation at right guard, the return of rookies Kyler Gordon and Velus Jones Jr. from injury and the continued progress of Eberflus’ culture, as seen in the way the Bears played in Seattle.
The Bears are treating this week like a regular-season game week with their practice schedule, ending the training camp portion of the summer. The Athletic’s Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain reflect on the past four weeks.
Most impressive player, offense
Fishbain: WR Darnell Mooney. It’s a repeat title for Mooney. Last summer was more of a revelation — there were high hopes for Mooney, but he was the No. 2 receiver in camp. Now he’s the No. 1, and there’s a big drop-off to No. 2, which was evident through Mooney’s performance. He caught everything thrown his way. His route running is on a different level. He has the best rapport with quarterback Justin Fields. It’s an easy choice but still reassuring for the Bears that Mooney was a playmaker this summer.
Jahns: RG Teven Jenkins. Who doesn’t appreciate a good comeback story? After the Bears traded up for Jenkins in the second round last year, he underwent back surgery and saw only 161 snaps on offense. This year, an undisclosed injury resulted in seven missed practices in camp and fueled trade speculation. He went from being the Bears’ future at left tackle to a potential bust. He changed that after he returned, but also changed positions. He’s now looking at taking over as the Bears’ starting right guard, filling a major offseason hole. He’s not the Bears’ best player, but he has impressed nonetheless.
Most impressive player, defense
Fishbain: DT Justin Jones. I considered a couple of defensive backs — Jaquan Brisker and Jaylon Johnson — but Jones was probably the most consistently dominant. Sure, he’s not going up against all-world interior offensive linemen in camp, but that’s why it’s good to see how often Jones won his reps. You don’t want him to be average if the assumption is that he’s more skilled than his adversary. Jones is plenty motivated and confident about what he can do in this defense, and in the past month, he showed that.
A Bears off day read on DT Justin Jones https://t.co/39x0oEpTwS
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 8, 2022
Jahns: S Jaquan Brisker. In search of immediate-impact players, the Bears found a good one in Brisker, the 48th pick in the draft. His preseason debut, which included ruining a Chiefs possession by himself, earned rave reviews. It was an extension of what he was doing in camp. The bad news is that he hurt his right hand in it. Brisker, though, should be OK for the season opener, or so the Bears hope. From Brisker’s physicality to his ball skills, the defense already looks different with him in it.
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Biggest disappointment
Fishbain: The passing game. A lot of excuses can be made — new playbook, constantly moving parts on the offensive line, weak receiving corps, injuries at wide receiver and tight end, second-year quarterback, etc. But there just weren’t enough practices when it was clicking at a high level. We didn’t see a ton of chunk plays through the air. We didn’t see a lot of touchdowns or long drives. When everyone is healthy and the games begin, maybe we’ll chalk up training camp as growing pains, and coordinator Luke Getsy’s concepts did stand out as far as getting guys open, but the passing game that was the worst in the NFL last season didn’t instill much confidence during camp.
Jahns: The injuries to key acquisitions. Things appear to be falling into place for the Bears’ offense. Jenkins and tackles Braxton Jones and Larry Borom are all on the verge of winning starting spots, but starting center Lucas Patrick remains out with a right hand injury. Fields’ rapport with Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet produced plenty in camp, but slot receiver Byron Pringle remains out with a quad injury. Patrick and Pringle were signed to fill important roles in coordinator Getsy’s offense.
Pleasant surprise
Fishbain: Rookie LT Braxton Jones. The Bears put Riley Reiff at left tackle for one practice, and that was it, and maybe that says a lot about Reiff, but it should say more about Jones and where he is in his development. There will certainly be rookie mistakes against the game’s top pass rushers, but he has shown not only the athleticism but the maturity to keep improving in camp and battle back from losses to Robert Quinn.
Jahns: WR Equanimeous St. Brown. Despite Getsy’s strong endorsement, I didn’t expect much from St. Brown, the Packers castoff who has 37 receptions in his career. But St. Brown has seemingly won over Fields. His numbers should still trail those of Mooney, Kmet and potentially Pringle in the passing game. But at 6-foot-5, St. Brown is a big target for Fields. They’ve connected on plenty of long completions off play action throughout camp.
Sat down with WR Equanimeous St. Brown last week to discuss his opportunity with the Bears — and he’s not alone in that receivers room in wanting to prove something.
Luke Getsy: “I think all of those guys, the urgency is very high.”
Story https://t.co/FJgPbwDaDN
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 1, 2022
Best quote
Fishbain: “Well, possibly I might not wake up tomorrow. There’s a lot of if-ifs. The only thing I can control is myself. Whether I’m in this building or another building, all I can do is bring the best version of myself and keep the positive energy around. If you think about all the what-ifs, honestly, you’re going to start bringing some negative energy in the building. I’ve seen it before and it’s not a good thing. I’m just trying to walk in with a positive spirit and get myself prepared for the season as a Chicago Bear and take life as it comes.” — defensive end Robert Quinn on the possibility of being traded later in the season.
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Jahns: “Whatever it is I have to go through this season, I’ll do it chin up, chest out, sun sets, no regrets, baby.” — linebacker Roquan Smith.
Tanner Gentry ‘undrafted rookie who caught our eye’ award
Fishbain: Defensive tackle Micah Dew-Treadway. I thought heading into camp it’d be wide receiver Kevin Shaa, and he did have one noteworthy catch in camp, but the lack of a passing game made it difficult for the likes of Shaa or tight ends Chase Allen and Jake Tonges to stand out in a camp setting. Dew-Treadway, though, seemed to really buy into the “HITS” principle. The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native had a sack against the Chiefs and showed a high motor in the interior.
Jahns: Linebacker Jack Sanborn. Another Chicago-area native from Lake Zurich, Sanborn not only made plays in camp but became one of the stars of the Bears’ preseason. He made an interception and recovered a fumble against the Chiefs in his debut. But it’s Sanborn’s four tackles on special teams in two preseason games that could earn him a spot on the 53-man roster.
Impressions of Justin Fields
Fishbain: He was fine — not bad, not great. He didn’t have many “wow” moments. The lack of consistency around him hurt. Maybe I set the bar too high for a quarterback in a new scheme with so many changing parts, but I thought he would dominate more often in practice than he did. However, Fields also wasn’t erratic. Turnovers were down. He definitely had a command of the offense, and he did a nice job taking what the defense gave him. Most importantly, I thought he improved from the start of camp, and the offense was much more in sync in the final week.
Jahns: I’ll go with cautiously optimistic. Getsy’s offense seems to fit Fields’ abilities well. He’ll be on the move and have opportunities to strike down the field — and we all know that Fields wants to do that. He’s a big-gain hunter. I also believe the Bears will be able to run the ball via their outside-zone scheme with David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. There also will be a screen game. That’s right, I said a screen game. That was absent under Matt Nagy. But it’s also apparent that the whole offense is a work in progress, from new starters up front to new cadences for Fields. What you see in practice isn’t always what shows up in real games.
Matt Eberflus impressions
Fishbain: I’ll admit, I tend to be an eye-roller when it comes to things like a “HITS” philosophy. Every coach wants hustle and intensity. But after watching training camp, it is really evident how Eberflus’ system ramps things up a bit. We saw it in the Seahawks game, the way the defense flew around the field and gang-tackled. Practices rarely had drills that made you scratch your head and wonder what the point was. Everything was at an up-tempo pace and the offense and defense got tons of reps. You can see how his philosophy can translate to being a competitive team, even if the personnel isn’t there.
Jahns: Everything felt purposeful in camp. Eberflus didn’t just preach the importance of takeaways. His practices included individual drills that might help produce them. It included a three-station fumble recovery drill with nearly every player involved one day inside the Walter Payton Center. Only the offensive linemen and quarterbacks sat it out. Eberflus’ camp practices also included scout-team periods earlier than his predecessors. The Bears’ roster has its deficiencies, but the coaching staff might be able to make up for some of them. You can tell that Eberflus knows exactly what he wants his team to be.
– Roquan Smith returns
– 70-65-67-76-75
– Jaquan Brisker’s injury update
– Tonga TimeTonight’s Bears camp report. https://t.co/B9Ao84CM6P
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 21, 2022
Lingering question, offense
Fishbain: How big of a jump can Fields make? You couldn’t walk away from training camp thinking, “OK, this guy is going to take off in Year 2.” But there were still signs of progress. When the games begin, we’ll really see how much he’s grown but also how much the below-average receiving corps will affect him, and how often he’ll be forced to scramble because of a young offensive line that still needs time to jell. This will take time, but he has the ability to “raise all boats.”
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Jahns: How many wins does Fields’ potential progress produce? At some point, his development will need to move past completion percentage, air yards, passer rating, EPA, QBR or whatever measurements you want to use to judge his performances and turn into wins for the Bears. It might be unfair to expect that immediately this season. He’s in a new offense and he’s short on proven weapons. But he’s still a first-round quarterback. Can he develop into the quarterback the Bears win “because of” instead of just “with”?
Lingering question, defense
Fishbain: Is the defensive line underrated or going to be a liability? I’m still bullish on Justin Jones, but he has 12 career tackles for loss. Al-Quadin Muhammad is coming off a career year, but why did it take until Year 5? Trevis Gipson has promise, but what’s his ceiling? Mario Edwards Jr. and Angelo Blackson are vets who have good penetrating ability, but neither is keeping an offensive coordinator up at night. Robert Quinn should still be a force, but to what degree? You can convince yourself of either end of the spectrum.
Jahns: What will an angry, extremely motivated Roquan Smith look like on the field? Smith’s career has had a roller-coaster feel to it. He became a rookie standout but only after his contract holdout. He became one of the league’s best linebackers and a team leader in 2020 but only after a strange 2019 season that saw him miss a game against the Vikings because of personal reasons. Now we all get to see what he looks like on the field after acting as his own agent and failing to get a contract extension from the Bears.
(Photo of Darnell Mooney: Jamie Sabau / USA Today)