Some Thoughts As We Get Ready For The Opening of Bears Camp

Next week, the Chicago Bears will finally begin training camp for the 2024 NFL season. The rookies report next Tuesday, July 16th, and the veterans report three days later, on the 19th.

The rookies will be doing mainly orientation work with some classroom and probably light outside work to get them caught up on the offensive and defensive schemes. With the vets reporting on Friday, the first real practice is on Saturday, July 20. With all this happening very quickly, I have some thoughts as to what may happen in the next week or so.

First, I feel that both Bears’ first-round picks, Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, will be signed by next Tuesday, if not right on Tuesday. If they miss the rookie orientation, it’s no big deal, but from a PR standpoint for all parties, it would be best if the deals were done.

Next, there has been a lot of social media talk about the Bears signing veteran center Connor Williams, but I highly doubt that will happen for a variety of reasons.

Williams is coming off his second ACL injury in four years. The first tear was in 2019, and then he tore his ACL late last season. He did not have surgery until mid-December, which means he still has a way to go before he is ready to play real football. Yes, I know his agent says he’s good to go, but that talk means nothing; the agent (Drew Rosenhaus) is just doing his job. Drew told three different “insiders” in the past few weeks that Williams was ready to play. What does that mean? It means he has no offers and is getting in panic mode.

The big question is, why would the Bears sign a player who isn’t ready to play when that player’s key job is to snap the ball to a rookie quarterback? It makes no sense.

Many fans have stated on social media that “we could sign him to the veteran minimum.” I’m sorry, but that is laughable. Drew Rosenhaus is looking for a multi-year contract similar to what Williams has been paid in the past.

Last, the Bears traded for and signed two centers earlier this spring. They are very happy with these players, and between the two, they have about $7.5 million tied up in the position, and they aren’t about to put more money into it.

Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton are very good football players. The Bears wanted Bates for the last two years, as they signed him to an offer sheet when he was an RFA in 2022. When Bates’ team, the Buffalo Bills, got into a salary cap crunch going into the 2024 league year, the Bears asked if Bates was available. Given that the Bills were $45 million over the cap, they gladly made the trade. The trade had NOTHING to do with Bates’ performance on the field.

Shelton had been the Rams starting center for most of the last two seasons. He is a very versatile player in that he can also play guard (as can Bates). The Bears, with those two players, are now in a position of strength at the center position, and talk about Connor Williams is beyond ridiculous.

Another rumor often seen on social media is that the Bears are favorites to sign former Green Bay left tackle David Bakhtiari. That rumor is more preposterous than the Connor Williams rumor. Bakhtiari has not played a full season since 2019. In 2020 he missed four games, in 2021 he missed 15 games, in 2022 he missed six games and then last year he missed 16. He CANNOT stay healthy and probably should retire. There is no way Ryan Poles is going to sign a player who will be 33 in September and has rarely played the last four years. Add to that the fact that Bakhtiari isn’t close to being the player he was five years ago.

The only position where I can see the Bears signing a veteran is defensive end. Going into camp, it’s a question mark as to who will play at the edge position opposite Montez Sweat. Yes, the Bears drafted Austin Booker, who is very talented and has a ton of upside. However, the reality is that he only played one full year of college football and is raw. He should be able to play in the rotation, but I doubt he is ready to be a starter.

During free agency, the Bears signed undersized Jacob Martin, who is a legitimate speed rusher. Like Booker, he isn’t what a team would want as a full-time player. His best years as a pass rusher were in 2019, 2020, and 2021, when he totaled 10.5 sacks but never more than four in any given year. Yes, Martin looked good in the off-season program, but when the pads come on in less than two weeks, we will get a much better idea.

DeMarcus Walker is a quality backup who can play inside or outside. He is best as a run defender, not a pass rusher. In his best year as a pass rusher, 2022, when he recorded 7.0 sacks, a good number of those came when he was lined up inside, not as an edge.

There aren’t many veterans out there who could help at the position. In fact, I count just two: Yannick Ngakoue, who was here last year, and Emmanuel Ogbah. Until last year, Ngakoue averaged 10 sacks a year. Last year he had 4.0, but he missed the last part of the season. He lacked production early on last year because opponents concentrated on stopping him, as he was the Bears’ only pass rush threat. Ngakoue played much better after the acquisition of Sweat.

Ogbah has had some big years, but not recently. He missed most of 2022 with an injury and then came back last year to record 5.0 sacks in 15 games for the Dolphins. The Dolphins released him as he wasn’t a good fit for their scheme. Ogbah has a connection to Ryan Poles, as he played for the Chiefs in 2019. Ogbah is 30 and will turn 31 during the season, so it’s a question mark whether Poles will be interested, but he does fit the Bears scheme from a size and athleticism point of view.

If the Bears do sign a veteran edge, they could wait until after a week or so of practice to see how Booker and Martin are playing. That could be risky, though, as other clubs may also have a need. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those two could be signed by the time the veterans report on the 19th.