Recapping Day 16 of Chicago Bears training camp

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The Chicago Bears were back at Halas Hall for their 16th training camp practice on Wednesday, and there were some headlines and standouts from another padded workout.
The Bears were back at practice after a scheduled day off, and quarterback Caleb Williams rebounded in a big way after a shaky workout on Monday afternoon. Williams led the offense on a successful two-minute drill while also connecting with wide receivers Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus throughout practice. There was also an interesting development in the battle for left tackle, where Ozzy Trapilo worked at right tackle with Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet rotating with the starters at left tackle.
Let's recap Day 16 of Bears training camp:
What we learned
The Bears don't appear to be any closer to determining their starting left tackle, and Wednesday's practice certainly sent things into a tizzy. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo worked exclusively at right tackle (with the second team) while Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet rotated with the first-team offense at left tackle. But the context for Trapilo is important. According to Brad Briggs, offensive line coach Dan Roushar said the team wanted to get Trapilo some work on the right side this summer. Now he's "cross training" should he be asked to play either position. But the biggest development is Benedet rotating with the starters, an indication that his solid preseason debut has now thrust him into this wide-open battle for the left tackle job.
Following Sunday's preseason tie, where the starters didn't play, quarterback Caleb Williams had a rocky practice on Monday. But he bounced back in a big way during Wednesday's session, which included leading a successful two-minute drill that culminated in a game-winning Cairo Santos field goal. While Williams got off to a slow start, per Zack Pearson, he got better as practice progressed and was overall "sharp" with some nice completions to wide receivers Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus.
Second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze is poised for a breakout year in Ben Johnson's offense, and his continued connection with quarterback Caleb Williams is another reason why. Odunze has had an impressive training camp where he's been one of Williams' favorite targets, and that continued Wednesday during a practice featuring red-zone drills. Williams connected with Odunze for a 10-yard pass on third-and-10 and again for a 6-yard completion on second-and-1, per Courtney Cronin. According toMark Carman, Odunze looks like Williams' "go to guy, especially in red zone" and the pair continued to work together following practice.
While the offense had an overall solid day -- be it the duo of Williams and Odunze or Tyson Bagent and Luther Burden III -- the same lingering issue of pre-snap penalties reared its ugly head. There were pre-snap issues throughout all three phases of the offense. Following a nice completion from Williams to Odunze, Chicago's offense committed two pre-snap penalties, as well as a fumbled handoff to D'Andre Swift. The issues continued on the third-team offense with another pair of pre-snap penalties with Case Keenum leading the charge. At one point, per @beardenlive, head coach Ben Johnson was "visibly upset" after another false start by the third team.
While Rome Odunze and DJ Moore appear to be Caleb Williams' top targets, he's quickly developing a nice rapport with wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, who has been a standout throughout training camp. That continued on Wednesday, where Williams connected with Zaccheaus four times during the two-minute drill that ended in a game-winning field goal, per Michal Dwojak. According to Scott Bair, "Zaccheaus shows up every day" and "clearly has Caleb's trust." That's important heading into the regular season.
Standouts
QB Caleb Williams: Caleb Williams picked a really good day to stand out at Bears practice. It's been a long week of discourse surrounding the starting quarterback and his ability to be great in the NFL, despite the fact he hasn't even taken a preseason snap under new head coach Ben Johnson. On Wednesday, Williams had one of his better practices of camp as he consistently connected with wide receivers Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus. A good amount of his incompletions came off drops from his receivers, including a deep ball in the middle of the field to DJ Moore. Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune notes Williams had one bad pitch to D'Andre Swift, but otherwise it was a very clean day for No. 18. Hopefully that carries over the rest of the week.
WR Rome Odunze: One of the main reasons Williams was dialed in on Wednesday was because of Odunze. The second-year receiver was all over the field, according to those in attendance. CHSN's Alex Shapiro said Odunze's best catch of the day came on a touchdown reception near the front right pylon with good coverage. Odunze and Williams were in sync for much of the day, connecting multiple times on a variety of passing plays, which bodes well for what the two can do when the regular season gets underway.
DE Dayo Odeyingbo: The offensive line was doing their own version of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" on Wednesday, with more players being added to the left tackle competition. That didn't matter for defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who made his presence known against veteran Braxton Jones on multiple occasions. According to Marquee Sports' Nicholas Moreano, Odeyingbo got the best of Jones, particularly on one rep when he put the tackle on the ground during 1-on-1 drills. With so much attention centered on Austin Booker after this last weekend, don't forget about Odeyingbo, who is being counted on to play a major role on the defensive line this season.
Injury updates
On the injury front, cornerbacks Terell Smith and Nick McCloud were at practice. Rookie offensive lineman Luke Newman also wasn't present after suffering a concussion in Sunday's preseason tie against the Miami Dolphins. While there appeared to be an injury scare early in practice with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., he was on the field and participating in this padded practice featuring live tackling. Nicholas Moreano noted Dexter was getting his elbow examined, and he had his left arm heavily wrapped as he rejoined the defensive line.
Highlights
Press conferences
What's next
The Bears are back at Halas Hall for their 17th training camp practice on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. CT. It will be open to fans.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears training camp: Recapping Day 16