Bears camp observations: Colston Loveland gets involved, Caleb Williams leads TD drive

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — On his second throw in a seven-on-seven period, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looked to his left and hit rookie tight end Colston Loveland on an out route. It was Loveland’s debut in the drill, and the first time we’ve seen the No. 10 draft pick in competitive drills.

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Loveland looked smooth. He caught the balls thrown his way. And he gave his quarterbacks a new target.

“Great hands, very agile, can block. He’s got everything you desire in a tight end,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “So, really looking forward to his development in the years ahead.”

The offense had its best practice thus far, sending the team into its first off day of camp on a positive note.

You Love to see it 🤩 pic.twitter.com/DhaNLc3Ix7 — Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 26, 2025

Two-minute success

Starting near midfield with 1:08 on the clock, Williams began a hurry-up drill with a swing pass to D’Andre Swift. He found Swift again as he backed away from pressure.

Following a delay of game, Williams connected with Olamide Zaccheaus, then with tight end Cole Kmet, who made a diving catch on the right sideline.

Putting a punctuation mark on the drill, Williams floated a short fade to Odunze for a touchdown. The second-year wideout came down with it over cornerback Nahshon Wright.

“It was just an up-and-down play, kind of quick, one-on-one man out there,” Odunze said. “Caleb gave me a shot. I was able to execute (on) the ball. Obviously, need to continue to build that and have that as a weapon in our offense, something that I did a lot in college as well. So, just building that connection, which I think we’ll show this year.”

The play came together quickly, but in those split seconds before Williams threw the ball, Odunze had to keep Wright from knowing what was coming.

“There’s a lot to it — just having the savviness, because obviously it’s red zone, so you don’t want to release too quick,” he said. “You don’t want to get to the spot too often. You kind of want to meet the ball exactly at the point where you want to catch it and have late hands with it. So, it’s all of that. Not giving the DB any sort of tips that I may be doing a fade.”

Offensive line shuffle

The Bears gave right tackle Darnell Wright a rest day, a decision made after looking at his GPS readings — the team tracks a variety of metrics after each practice. Head coach Ben Johnson said it wasn’t an injury.

Theo Benedet, an undrafted rookie signing out of Canada in 2024, took Wright’s place. That’s an impressive depth chart climb for Benedet, who spent all of last season on the practice squad.

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Kiran Amegadjie got the first-team snaps at left tackle but exited the field with head trainer Andre Tucker. Braxton Jones was taking the second-team reps, but rookie Ozzy Trapilo handled the left tackle spot with the starters for the two-minute drill.

Center Doug Kramer also had to leave practice with an apparent injury.

‘We’re not frustrated whatsoever’

One thing Johnson noted when recapping Friday’s practice was how the offense finished strong. And it did, which seemed to carry into Saturday’s session.

There’s a difference between the offense having a rough day and concern levels for the regular season rising. It hadn’t been very smooth for Williams and company for three days, but Johnson wasn’t fazed.

“We’re not frustrated at all. We’re right where we need to be,” he said. “In fact, I told the unit last night — to see where they came from, the springtime, to where we’ve been for three days, we’re not having to coach alignment, we’re not having to coach finish, we’re not having to coach ‘the standard,’ as you say.

“Now we’re coaching football. Now we’re reading coverage and we’re able to accumulate reps. Like I alluded to before, the beautiful thing about it is, our guys, man, they’re learning. We’re not making the same mistake twice. That goes for the guy that’s getting the rep, and that goes for the guys not getting the rep. They’re learning from everything. We’re not frustrated whatsoever.”

Motivated Montez

Defensive end Montez Sweat doesn’t always participate in voluntary spring practices. He did this year, however, and that wasn’t lost on his head coach.

“He was very disappointed with how the season went last year — as a lot of the guys in the locker room were, both individually and as a team — and felt such a way, so compelled, that he was here throughout the springtime, which is not something that he’s done in the past,” Johnson said. “He’s committed to this team. He’s committed to getting better.”

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Sweat had 5 1/2 sacks last season after posting 12 1/2 in 2023, a year he split between Washington and Chicago. He was not fully healthy last season.

In five games against the Lions with Johnson calling plays, Sweat had eight QB hits and three sacks, including four QB hits when the Bears upset the Lions in 2023.

“When he turns that thing on, he is hard in the pass-rush game,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to block him. You have to account for him. You move him around, right side, left side, (it) makes it even more difficult because you’re looking to help your tackles out with some chips and some nudges — and if you don’t know where he’s going to be, then that makes it that much harder.”

Sweat said that Dennis Allen’s “complex” scheme “keeps you on your toes,” and that he’s been watching some tape of Cameron Jordan, who went to seven Pro Bowls with Allen running the Saints’ defense.

“Cam Jordan has always kind of been one of those premier pass rushers in the league. It’s kind of hard not to watch him when you play my position,” Sweat said. “I have gone back and looked at some of the film of how he’s excelled in this defense under Dennis Allen.”

Quick hits

• Rookies Luther Burden III, Shemar Turner and Zah Frazier remained out. Johnson said he’s hopeful that Burden will return soon.

• Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon’s blitz helped force an incomplete pass during team drills.

• The Bears will put on pads for practice when they return to Halas Hall early next week.

(Top photo of Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)

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