The Athletic has live coverage of Panthers vs. Cardinals in the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — In their longest and most physical practice of camp thus far, the Chicago Bears saw two key starters leave with injuries Thursday.
Braxton Jones, who had been the most consistent starter among those vying for the Week 1 left tackle job, was visibly frustrated as he apparently got hurt during one-on-one drills.
With Jones sidelined, third-year pro Kiran Amegadjie took the starting left tackle reps. Jones is coming off his first fully healthy offseason since the end of his rookie year and has been open about how much better it’s been no longer having to think about the ankle injury that ended his 2024 season and lingered into 2025.
Coach Ben Johnson said before practice that the team is hoping to get clarity on the position by the middle of next week, but added, “This is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.” Jones has been the front-runner. The hope for him and the team is that it would be only a minor injury, but any time away could open the door to Amegadjie, Jedrick Wills or Theo Benedet.
All eyes are on Caleb Williams entering Year 2 under Ben Johnson
Kevin Fishbain
During 11-on-11 drills, defensive end Montez Sweat seemed to slow up during a rep. He took himself off the field and got stretched out by head athletic trainer Andre Tucker before the two of them walked off the field together.
Two of the more serious injuries happened to reserve defensive backs. Dallis Flowers went down with an apparent right knee injury before being helped off by trainers. Gervarrius Owens had to be carted off after going down later in practice.
The Bears remain without nickel corner Kyler Gordon. Johnson said there’s no update on Gordon’s status.
Player in the spotlight: DE Austin Booker
Thursday’s practice saw the Bears run a less-common nine-on-seven drill, which focuses on the inside run game. The Bears’ run defense was sixth-worst in the league in 2025, and defensive end Austin Booker raved about the drill after practice for how it dialed in on key areas for improvement.
“We love it,” Booker said. “That’s our mentality this year. We’re getting off the ball, we’re being aggressive at blocks and getting in the backfield.”
Booker said he spent the offseason focused particularly on his lower-body strength and improving his stance to help him off the ball faster. To do so, Booker said he did a lot of weight training and finishes each of his workouts with sled pushes. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Booker said he’s in the 250-pound range.
Bears defensive end Austin Booker has earned praise from his head coach for his offseason approach this year. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
His coach echoed those improvements.
“He’s approached this offseason really well,” Johnson said. “What he looks like from a body standpoint when you’re long-legged like that, it’s a little bit harder to get low in your stance, and I think he’s really making that a mission of his, to be able to do that and be explosive. I like where he’s at right now, and we’ll continue to see how it goes over the next few weeks.”
Matching the tone of Thursday’s practice, Booker played with physicality. Booker beat Braxton Jones during one-on-ones, which appeared to leave Jones banged up. During team drills, Booker got into the backfield to bring down running back D’Andre Swift for a tackle for loss.
“It’s great competition,” Booker said of the back-and-forth between the offense and defense. “We’re blessed to have the offense we have, and I know the offense feels the same about us. We just got to complement each other this year, and I think we all see that.”
Keep an eye on: DT Jordan van den Berg
On Tuesday, rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg brought the intensity to the first padded practice, instigating the first mini-scuffle of camp. On Thursday, van den Berg continued to make an impact, this time earning reps with the starters during nine-on-seven run drills.
Van den Berg made a big stop in the backfield, igniting his defensive teammates into their most enthusiastic celebration of the morning. He also recorded wins against offensive linemen Logan Jones and Luke Newman during one-on-ones.
“He’s a dawg,” Booker said of van den Berg. “I love playing with him. I have super high standards for him because of how hard he works, and I think we all see on the field that he’s a really good player.”
Van den Berg was raised in South Africa playing rugby. When he was 10, his family relocated to the Atlanta area. A no-star recruit, he didn’t have any Division I offers and walked on at Iowa Western Community College in 2020, where he gained 40 pounds in his first year. He transferred to Penn State, where he played three seasons as a backup, and finished his college career at Georgia Tech.
At 6-3, 310 pounds, van den Berg brings size and power on the defensive line. The Bears selected him with their final pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, making van den Berg the first South African-born player to be drafted. It’s worth watching if van den Berg can earn a more significant role if he continues to bring the energy he has shown in camp.
Two-minute drill
The starting offense got the ball with 1:41 left on the clock, trailing by 3 points with the ball on its 35-yard line.
Swift got it started with a 14-yard run, followed by a 5-yard catch by tight end Colston Loveland.
Quarterback Caleb Williams put the ball on the money to receiver Kalif Raymond for a 23-yard out route. After a 7-yard quick pass to Raymond and Booker’s tackle for loss, Williams found receiver Rome Odunze to move the sticks on third down. Swift took a pass and ran it to the 3-yard line before Williams threw a strike to receiver Luther Burden for a touchdown.
Williams was 6-of-6 passing on the drive, and he showed emotion with a fist pump after the score. Raymond said the communication was on point during the successful drive.
“It doesn’t matter if the defense knows what we’ve got, but as long as we know what we’ve got, everything will work,” he said.
Personnel-wise on defense, rookie Malik Muhammad took reps as the starting nickel corner in place of Jaylon Jones, who was not on the sideline for the drill. With Sweat out, Daniel Hardy played defensive end opposite Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo slid inside.
Quote of note
We heard from Johnson for the first time since right tackle Darnell Wright signed his four-year contract extension. What can younger players in the locker room learn from Wright’s ascent?
“I’ve been in here for a year and a half, and I don’t know that I’ve seen a guy improve as much as him,” Johnson said. “More so from a consistency standpoint than anything else. He’s always had it in him in flashes, but the way he played a year ago, it was no secret that we really relied on that right side of the offensive line for our run game engine to go, and he was a huge part of that.”
Quick hits
• Practice for the offense opened with a touchdown as Williams faked a handoff and moved to his right to avoid blitzing linebacker Devin Bush. He then found Odunze, who ran for the touchdown.
• Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had an interception of a Williams pass — Odunze had slipped on his route.
• The physical practice led to a few mini skirmishes. We saw linebacker D’Marco Jackson and tight end Qadir Ismail get into it. During safety vs. tight end one-on-ones, Ismail took a shove from rookie safety Dillon Thieneman, which led to more extracurriculars after Ismail had maybe been a little aggressive in the rep.
• Kicker Cairo Santos had a good day, making all six of his field goal tries, including three from 50-plus yards and a long of 56 yards.
• Undrafted rookie Skyler Thomas had a TFL in team drills. With injuries at safety, Thomas has gotten time with the second-team defense along with Anthony Johnson Jr.
• Cornerback Terell Smith, defensive back KC Eziomume and offensive lineman Jordan McFadden were not spotted at practice.
