Quotes and remarks on the 2025 Chicago Bears minicamp at Halas Hall.
There was a time when offseason training activities (OTAs) were “voluntary”. Some of the action took place off the field where some players might have been in the midst of contract disputes or seeking trades. Nothing of the sort is transpiring in Lake Forest this year.
This past week saw the Chicago Bears wrap up their mandatory minicamp, offering the coaching staff and us in local media a clearer picture of the team’s progress ahead of training camp. The three non-contact practices provided valuable opportunities for players to further acclimate to Head Coach Ben Johnson’s new schemes and build crucial chemistry. While the intensity will undoubtedly ramp up when pads come on in late July, minicamp served as an important stepping stone, emphasizing mental reps, detail-oriented execution, and a deeper understanding of the playbook across both sides of the ball.
The consensus among my fellow Chicago sportswriters following minicamp appears to be cautiously optimistic, with a particular focus on the team’s development of the offense under Ben Johnson. While some early OTA struggles on the offensive side of the ball were noted, there was a visible improvement as minicamp progressed, culminating in strong situational drills from quarterback Caleb Williams. Writers highlighted the growth in chemistry between Williams and his new receiving corps, particularly with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. Additionally, a few under-the-radar players drew praise from Coach Johnson himself, suggesting potential breakout performances heading into the preseason. However, the ongoing competition at left tackle and the health of key players like Braxton Jones remain points of interest and will be closely monitored as the team transitions to training camp.
Day One
Coach Ben Johnson: On ‘having four of the five offensive line spots effectively solidified’:
“We feel good about the rest of them gelling together, and that’s really what it comes down to; they have to spend time, as a unit, over and over and over again. Game one, we’re going to be far from a finished product. Hopefully. by the time we get through the bye week, we’ll start seeing some of these guys come together and really gel as a unit. I think, as a whole, because it’s a new offense, it doesn’t matter if you’re (OL) Joe Thuney and you’ve been playing for 10-plus years, or you’re one of these young people that we’re talking about, we have to coach them all the same right now. It’s not like we can just concentrate on just one spot and that battle, it’s really the whole unit, and the depth behind it, as well. We’ve talked about it, I think, consistently through the springtime, eight, nine, even 10, linemen are going to be called upon at some point this year.”
On TE Cole Kmet:
“A high intelligence factor is clear from the get-go. He’s a pro. He takes his work seriously. Positive energy, great teammate. You could tell, instantly, when he was around the other offense players and the rest of the team, there’s an instant respect level. I believe he’s been here the longest out of anybody on the roster right now, and you can tell that they respect him for that. There’s a lot to be said there. He’s done things the right way for a long time. It’s been great, not just him learning the offense, but helping others in the process, as well.”
Johnson on RB D’Andre Swift:
“Yeah, I have a history with him. I was with him when he was a rookie, and then, certainly, my first year calling (the offense) there in Detroit, he was with me, as well. Here’s what I know about him; he is a fierce competitor, and that’s what I love about him. When the lights are bright, you’re going to know exactly what you’re going to get. If you tell him that you’re going to need one yard, four yards, whatever that is, he’s going to find a way to put his shoulder down and move the pile and get that done for you. It goes back to what we’re trying to instill for the entire offense, not just that particular player. Year 10, year one, it’s all about the basics here this springtime, the fundamentals. What is a proper pass block from the backfield look like? What does ball security look like? What’s the proper catching-the-football look like? We’re breaking it down to the studs and growing it up from there. For him, right now, it’s the tracks on all of our run game, being consistent and true to that, and the pass-pro is a little bit new for him, as well.”
On WR DJ Moore and ‘why he, statistically, took a step back last year’:
“Your guess is as good as mine on that one. What we’ve seen the last, call it six, seven weeks, has been a guy that’s highly motivated. He wants to be as complete of a receiver as he can possibly be, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there.”
Moore on Coach Johnson’s intensity and how he handles the intensity as a player without letting it ‘get on his nerve”:
“I don’t think it gets on your nerves. It’s just more like, dang, you’ve got to look at deep down in yourself and be like, did I really mess up? Did I execute the play at the highest level that I can? Was I slacking or was it perfect? So that’s what he wants, perfection, but we know we all can’t be perfect every play, so just being as close we can is the best thing.”
On how Coach Johnson’s offense compares to offenses he has had to learn in the past:
“It’s not hard unless you’re not studying. If you’re studying and on your stuff and knowing different spots, you’ll be okay.”
Cole Kmet: On ‘having gone through multiple coaching transitions’:
“They’ve all been different, they’re all different in many ways. I think what sticks out with Ben and this staff just in general, is just how detail oriented they are. You can feel that in the meetings and they’re relentless on the details. I think that that’s something that may be a little bit unique from what I’ve had in the past. Not saying other coaches weren’t detailed – but it’s like an obsession with the details and you can feel that from him. He just can’t let it go. You feel that from him, whether it’s on the field or in the meeting room he brings that with him wherever he’s at.”
On ‘Johnson’s attention to detail’:
“I mean, you name it. Whether it’s with (QB) Caleb’s (Williams) cadence and how he says the play in the huddle. With alignments and techniques, making the right calls. It’s every day and it’s relentless. He’s definitely thrown a lot at us in this short time here in the spring. I think he wants to challenge us as a group to see what we can handle. I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far. There’s definitely been some ups and downs throughout the way, but I think that’s kind of the method to the madness so far.”
On ‘if the attention to detail is something the team needed’:
“Yeah, I think it was needed. It’s hard, I can say, ‘Well, I’m going to go workout by myself in the offseason’ and I can have a really good workout. But if I don’t have somebody there pushing me, I don’t have a partner to workout with who’s calling me out on the things that I’m doing and holding me accountable to making sure that the sixth rep of the squat is going at 90 degrees – you’re not cheating that last rep. Ben kind of brings that presence for us offensively and the rest of the coaching staff. You’ve definitely felt that through the spring and those are the things you need to be reminded of constantly. I don’t think anybody takes it personally. It’s not as if he’s yelling or screaming, he just what’s best for the team and he wants to win. At the end of the day that’s all that we want as well.”
Day Two
Ben Johnson on ‘the connection piece between play-caller and quarterback’:
“I think it goes beyond that, for me. I brought up Tannehill before, it started with him, and then we had a number of guys that were in that quarterback room in Miami, different quarterback coaches, different play callers. Same thing in Detroit, whether it was (former Lions QB and current Rams QB Matthew) Stafford or (Lions QB Jared) Goff, different guys. You pick different things up out of all of them. I think there needs to be, you use the word accountability, it’s like that for every position, but certainly that position. You have to be able to tell them when it’s good and when it’s not good enough, in front of their peers. We spend a lot of time together, one-on-one, as well. Some of the best things that I did when I became the coordinator was the quarterback and the play-caller need to see the play exactly the same. You don’t develop that trust unless you spend a lot of time together. For whatever reason, if you do it in the room with all the other quarterbacks, sometimes you can get a little defensive, whereas when it’s one-on-one, the truth can can come out and no one’s feelings are going to get hurt and each person can speak the truth. I guess those are some of the things that I have learned over the years.”
On the ‘trust process’ and timeline:
“We’ll take advantage of whatever time we’re allowed to spend with these players. Right now, we’re limited. This week, we actually get a little bit more than what we’ve had in the past few but, certainly (training) camp. Then, once we get into game weeks, there’s going to be a lot of time spent with the staff and with myself, as the play caller.”
DB Jaquan Brisker on returning to action:
“I’m just blessed to play football. It means a lot. Obviously, I love playing football. Just being out there, especially coming from where I’m from, just seeing what I’ve seen, there are so many people who want to be in this position, so many people who want to be in my shoes, so I’m just blessed to be here. It means a lot. I don’t take it for granted. Never took it for granted, even before I got hurt. Always thank God. Always thankful to be on the field. Always say my prayer after 50 (-yard line). Whatever it may be, I’m really blessed to be here.”
On if he is ‘curious for what it will be like when the pads come on’:
“No, no. If you watch it out there, you know that I’m not curious (laughter). I want to hit right now. No, I’m not curious. I’m playing full speed. I’m going to be a play-maker. Nothing really changes, I’m just going to be stronger, I’m going to be a lot more mentally focused. I did so much work. I’m really past it, I’m really moving on.”
DB Tyrique Stevenson on ‘how the new coaching staff has changed the vibe and movement in the building’:
“They’re real big on the details. I’ve been a program, you know, with (University of Georgia Head Coach) Kirby Smart where the details are the main thing, but I’ve never been where it’s like, we’re going to go inside that detail and fix that (laughter). I feel like the details that they’re trying to focus on when installing us will help us on the field and kind of off the field with how we process everything.”
On if he is excited to have a ‘fresh start’ this year:
“Yeah. Still with some of the guys from that team last year, we want to be the best defense in this league. This defense wants to be the best defense this year. I wouldn’t say a fresh start, I would just say some of the guys come out with the same mentality. We add some pieces in, some dogs. It’s time to hunt.”
On if Head Coach Ben Johnson or any of the other new coaches have talked to him about the Hail Mary play from last season:
“There’s really no conversation needed to be had. I owned it. It was a mistake. I just happen to play a sport where my mistake is nationally televised and I feel like (now) in talking to me and going through the meetings, they can see that I already owned it up to it. I owned up to the guys from last year, (and now) nothing but effort and myself, and they see that I’m putting it in. So there’s really no conversation need to be had.”
Coach Johnson summing up Day Three
“A good last day of Minicamp there. As you could see, it was a little bit of a shorter practice, a little bit more situational stuff. Some of these guys are going to take off for the summer. We’re leaving the last week of OTAs open. We’ll be on the field, we’ll be practicing, but it will be a little bit more young guy emphasis and special teams emphasis, so it will be the last we see of some of these guys for the summer, then we’ll get them back for Training Camp. We’ll be in great shape. The objectives that we set out to achieve, really throughout the whole offseason program, we felt really good about introducing the scheme, strength and conditioning, just our standard of technique and fundamentals and finish. That was really encouraging to see over the course of the last nine weeks. With that, I’ll open it up.”
On players who have improved over the Offseason Program:
“Yes, thank you for giving me a moment there (laughter). I didn’t want to throw around names for no reason (laughter). I would say, defensively, the two guys that I would tell you are (DL) Dom Robinson — even without the pads on, he has done a great job of consistently speed rush up the field or countering back to the inside, he’s done a really nice job there, and then, of course, he has some special teams value that he takes a lot of pride in as well — then, I thought the player we probably saw the most improvement from, when he stepped in to now, was (LB) Ruben Hyppolite. He’s done a nice job of learning. He’s swimming a little bit, but he’s taking it seriously, and (Linebackers) Coach Richard Smith has done a fantastic job with him over the course the last few weeks. On offense, I would probably single out (TE) Joel Wilson. You saw him today with a big catch. He’s kind of had one or two of those almost every OTA (practice). Then, in the running back room, (RB) Kyle Monangai has really stepped up. I appreciate the attention to detail and the pride he takes and how quickly he’s picking things up, as well. That’s four good names for you right there.”
On if he has ‘accomplished what he set out to accomplish’ in OTAs:
“Yes, we set out goals and objectives for Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. We circled back on what those were for Phase III this morning, as a group, and we felt pretty good about what we’ve been able to accomplish. The onus is on our players now, to take advantage of the next six weeks. They have built a lot of good will with their bodies, conditioning-wise. They’re strong. We have a number of guys that lost fat mass and gained lean mass and are in great shape right now. We have to continue that trend, not just to maintain, but even keep pushing that a little bit further. For us, Training Camp is not a ‘get in shape camp,’ it’s ‘show up in shape camp,’ so that we can become a good football team.”
WR Rome Odunze on what he believes he has accomplished over the past month:
“I feel like there’s a lot of things that we have accomplished. We’ve set a foundation of our standard and still building on that as well. But we set a foundation, I feel like, in many aspects of the offense, whether that’s our details, our, our learning, our chemistry, our knowledge of the playbook, feeling of different routes and specializations for individual receivers and tight ends and all that as well. I know when we get the pads on the O line and D-line, we’ll be able to, you know, actually have some fun out there as well.”
On ‘what this offense can do for him personally’:
“It’s an explosive offense. I think Ben and crew have great offensive minds, and they can help put me in positions to succeed and that’s all I could ask for by the end of the day. You know, I’ve got to go out there and make the plays and get the job done regardless. So I think it’s something that is a dual relationship in that fact and we both kind of have to come together to make that happen, but I feel like it’s brewing for sure.”
On QB Caleb Williams:
“He’s continued to grow. I didn’t play quarterback at a high level in college – I played when I was like six, so there wasn’t many reads and 600-pound linemen running at me full speed or eight different reads or different coverages (laughter). So, I’m not necessarily an expert on quarterback play. But he’s continued to grow from what I’ve seen and make strides, continue to pour into his profession and his craft. From my perspective, that’s all I can ask for.”
Backup QB Tyson Bagent on Head Coach Ben Johnson:
“I would say it’s been a dream come true, especially for somebody like me that just loves the game and loves the hustle aspect of it. It’s been very intense, and kind of overloading us with information, which I’m a fan of. It’s been wonderful. He has a good mixture of making sure we’re locked in, having fun, laughing, and also, just being really intense. It’s been great so far.”
On ‘the edge’ that Johnson has provided:
“A first-time Head Coach, I think he’s doing a great job of trying to create culture in a place that’s been asking for it for a while. With that comes being unwavering in what you say and how you act. I think that has been the case so far. He hasn’t taken a step back from any claims that he’s made up until this point.”
On the competition in the quarterback room:
“The competition aspect, I’ll be surprised when that’s not the case, year to year, every year, just competing with somebody. I’m always competing. No matter who’s in a room, that is just not going to change how I operate and what I do on a daily basis. It’s been great in that sense. And, what a guy (Keenum). What he brings to the room, really, just a Encyclopedia of information. Somebody that’s been in every role that a quarterback could possibly be in in the NFL. I’ve just been trying to take advantage of that, really, any question that I have, if he’s around, or if I have my phone on me, wanting to ask him, basically, whatever it is that’s going on, and he’s been great with answering every question that, really, everybody in the room has so far.”
DL Andrew Billings on ‘what the team accomplished during the offseason program’:
“I think what we’ve done great is we got into the playbook, and we got through the whole thing. We get to come back and do it again. It’ll be round two. I think we’ve set the standard, set the tone. When we get back, we already know where we’re at and where we need to be and where we need to be. I think that’s been a great start.”
On how he would describe Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen:
“He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. He might actually add a little salt (laughter). That’s what it is.”
On if he will continue to make move calls:
“It’s still a part of the defense. You always want to see if we can get a free five yards back that way. We’ll still have it.”
On what his role will be in the defense:
“I’m working through everything with everybody else. That’s part of what we’re doing here, we’re figuring out our roles. And of course, I had a big role last year and every year you got to work up to maintaining that or achieving even more. So that’s what I’m working towards. I’m still going to be the run stopper. I’m still going to work on pass rush. I’m still going to work on my move calls and everything else.”
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