The Chicago Bears will be hunkering down at Halas Hall for their annual training camp in just under two weeks, and several players at key positions are aiming to have strong performances in an attempt to impress both the front office and coaches.
Training camp generally has one mantra that permeates every NFL team: no job is safe. While some proven veterans are unofficially locked in at their respective positions (Justin Fields at quarterback or Eddie Jackson at safety), the majority of players on the roster have something to prove.
Whether that player is a second or third-year vet who needs to display growth in their skillset lest someone else take their spot, or they’re a cemented starter but mistakes and lack of execution has their job on the chopping block, training camp will be the judge of which players see the field on Sundays, and who will be keeping the bench warm.
Here are seven Bears players who need to have a strong training camp.
WR Chase Claypool
General manager Ryan Poles took a big swing at the halfway point of the 2022 season when he traded a 2023 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for talented wide receiver Chase Claypool. Poles’ big swing has turned out to be a strike so far as Claypool didn’t do much to relieve the Bears’ struggles as the season went on.
Hope isn’t lost though. Claypool had to learn the Bears playbook on the fly and his last full season with the Steelers was a productive one, accumulating almost 900 yards receiving. The fanbase’s worries about Claypool would be eased if the former second-round pick can prove to be a reliable target for the quarterback position throughout training camp.
EDGE Trevis Gipson
Trevis Gipson was, at one point, a revelation for the Bears. Gipson was a 2020 round five selection that quickly gained favor with the coaching staff due to his relentless effort and craftiness off the snap. Gipson had a career year in 2021, finishing the season with seven sacks and five forced fumbles.
Since then, however, the edge rusher’s production has faltered, adding to the reasons why many fans consider the front four to be one of the weakest positions on the team.
Gipson, along with his fellow edge rushers, will need to prove to head coach Matt Eberflus and others that he is still capable of his 2021 production, or some last-minute free agent signings could relegate him to a lesser role in the rotation.
WR Velus Jones Jr.
Velus Jones Jr. is a bit of an enigma in Chicago. Fans were through the roof when the Bears drafted Jones in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, daydreaming about his potentially game-breaking speed and return ability. While Jones did start his NFL career with a bang – scoring on his first NFL catch on an end-around play – the former Tennessee receiver’s play quickly degraded as the season went on, to the point where Jones was relieved of his kick-returning duties, something that was considered one of his biggest strengths.
Now, heading into camp, Jones has an uphill battle ahead of him. The receiver room has become very crowded with the arrivals of star pass-catcher D.J. Moore, last year’s midseason trade for Claypool, and the addition of receiver Tyler Scott through the draft. Jones needs to tap in to the dynamic and reliable player he was with the Volunteers, or he may lose his roster spot to someone the Bears brass can trust.
CB Tyrique Stevenson
If there’s one thing Poles has proven in his short time as Chicago’s GM, it’s that he is not afraid to fill positions of need. Need a receiver? Here’s D.J. Moore. Oh, the team needs a tackle? Here’s first-round pick Darnell Wright.
Poles continued that same method of attack when drafting Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in the second round of this year’s draft. One of the Bears’ outside cornerback positions has been a question mark for a couple of years now, being manned by mainstay Kindle Vildor. While some speculate second-year rising star Kyler Gordon may take his talents to the boundary instead of the slot, it’s more reasonable to expect Stevenson to be the newcomer who fills the role.
That being said, Stevenson is by no means a shoo-in for the job. One of the more interesting training camp battles will be the competition for the outside corner spot. Whether Stevenson will firmly take the wheel or the wily veteran Vildor will keep the rookie at arm’s length will be one of the more interesting storylines to keep an eye on leading up to the regular season.
RB Trestan Ebner
No player has to confront the harsh reality of an NFL training camp quite like the Bears’ Trestan Ebner. Ebner already had the odds stacked against him: He was a late-round draft pick and his opportunities were at a minimum due to studs like David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert sitting ahead of him on the depth chart. Even now with Montgomery departing Chicago for Detroit, Ebner’s future with the Bears seems all the more fragile.
To compensate for the loss of Montgomery’s production, Chicago inked the Panther’s surprisingly productive D’Onta Foreman to a one-year deal and drafted Texas’ powerful Roschon Johnson in this year’s draft, creating a sinkhole in the depth chart that Ebner once again fell into.
Ebner may be down, but he is not out. If the second-year pro can be a reliable receiver out of the backfield and can consistently perform on special teams, Ebner may be able to sport the blue and orange for another season.
DE Dominique Robinson
Robinson is in the same boat as the aforementioned Gipson, though at a less critical juncture. Bears fans didn’t expect much from the defensive end out of Miami of Ohio when he was picked in the fifth round of last year’s draft – that is until he flashed some truly incredible displays of freakish athleticism and power in the preseason.
A flash is an apt way to describe it because as quickly as Robinson’s ability appeared, it was gone. Robinson was not able to unleash that tantalizing pass-rushing skill for most of the season, but the Chicago faithful have not turned the page on the young defensive end just yet. Even if the front office decides to bring in some much-needed firepower on the defensive line, Robinson could potentially keep his spot on the defensive rotation if he shows his coaches that supernatural ability and continues to learn the position.
K Cairo Santos
Though it isn’t necessarily the most electric or thrilling positional battle, a kicker battle will be taking place during Bears training camp nevertheless. Questions may arise as to why a player like Santos, who made 21 field goals on 23 attempts last season, is suddenly fighting for his job, and the answer is something we all have to confront in life: money.
Santos is entering the final year of his contract and the Bears would take a negligible cap hit if they decided to part ways with the kicker. Cairo does have competition: Chicago signed Syracuse’s own Andre Szmyt, who won the Lou Groza award as the nation’s best kicker in his freshman year. While it would be a bitter pill to swallow to say goodbye to the player who gave much-needed stability to the kicking department since legend Robbie Gould left town, it is a truth that may come to pass as training camp progresses.
