Bears minicamp observations: Fun day at Halas Hall will fuel Ben Johnson's trick plays

New York Times

21 hours ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — One of the highlights from the third and final day of the Chicago Bears' mandatory minicamp was backup quarterback Case Keenum making a behind-the-back catch with two hands.
It came after quarterback Caleb Williams caught a deep pass from receiver Devin Duvernay (who first made a catch on a throw from backup QB Tyson Bagent) and raced into the end zone where he screamed and celebrated.
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It was a fun day at Halas Hall. Offensive linemen and quarterbacks caught passes during that one period in practice, while receivers, running backs and tight ends threw them.
'Yeah, I let those guys know, we only do this once a year, and it's an evaluation and we'll circle back in training camp and in the season to see who we can trust to catch the ball or throw the ball,' Johnson said Thursday. 'I think there's a couple guys on the (offensive) line that stood out. And then Case Keenum might have made the catch of the day, you know, behind the back about 50 yards down the field. So I think we've got some toys to work with.'
🚨 O-Linemen running routes 🚨 pic.twitter.com/d2JQiXOyfN
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 5, 2025
This is the Ben Johnson way. He's serious about the details but also about adding trick plays to his playbook. The fun and games from Thursday could be considered the starting point for the latter.
Did Johnson see the one-handed catch that right tackle Darnell Wright made?
'Oh, I did,' he said, smiling. 'I did. I did.'
Johnson was asked on Wednesday if any players stood out to him during minicamp. He asked for a day to consider the players.
On Thursday, he provided his answer: defensive end Dominique Robinson, rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, tight end Joel Wilson and rookie running back Kyle Monangai.
Robinson, inactive for most of last season, spent most of minicamp playing with the defensive starters opposite Montez Sweat, with Dayo Odeyingbo sitting out.
'Even without the pads on, (Robinson's) done a great job of consistently speed-rushing up the field or countering back to the inside,' Johnson said. 'He's done a really nice job there. And of course he's got some special teams value that he takes a lot of pride in as well.'
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Hyppolite's opportunities increased with T.J. Edwards dealing with a soft-tissue injury. Johnson described him as 'the player we probably saw the most improvement from when he stepped in to now.' Hyppolite, the Bears' fourth-round pick this year, played with the starters as the weakside linebacker. He's also competing with Noah Sewell on the strong side
'There's a lot of moving parts there at linebacker play,' Johnson said. 'They're keying and diagnosing a few different deals, and just with (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's) scheme, the match mentality that we like to play a lot of our coverages with, things change quickly. He's done a great job adjusting to that speed as we've gone through, and that's going to have to show up once we do get the pads on. But I think he's been improving every single day, and really, we're hoping that course continues.'
Wilson, who initially joined the Bears' practice squad last October, caught a touchdown pass from Keenum during a situational period on Thursday. Johnson said he's made plays like that throughout the offseason program. Wilson went undrafted out of Central Michigan in 2023 before stints with the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants.
'He's got a little savvy in how he moves,' Johnson said. 'He's got a nice route feel about him. The test will really be when we get going in camp, how he holds up in the run game and the pass pro game. But so far in the running route section of tight end play, I think he's stood out in a positive light.'
Johnson said that Monangai, the Bears' final draft selection this year, has 'really stepped up' during minicamp. That included catching a touchdown pass from Williams during a situational drill on Wednesday.
'I appreciate the attention to detail and the pride he takes and how quickly he's picking things up,' Johnson said of Monangai.
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Johnson has continued to quiz his quarterbacks on play calls. Quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett provides the play, and the quarterbacks have to repeat it and then go through its operation until they get it correct. Each quarterback gets three plays in a row.
'It's been intense,' Bagent said. 'At the beginning, when he was doing those quizzes, it was just kind of like putting somebody in a corner and pinning them there because we didn't really know what any of these words meant. So just trying to put together a play call when you don't really know what each word means is kind of hard.
'But I think that just that act in itself was like, at least for me … when I would go home, I would go straight into my iPad and try to figure all that (expletive) out. So I think it served wonders for the quarterback room going down the line, just what the expectation is of having to be on top of your (expletive) every day that you walk into the building, so I thought it was great.'
Two years ago, Bagent was a rookie who beat out veteran P.J. Walker to be the Bears' No. 2 quarterback behind Justin Fields.
But this year, it's apparent that he's fighting to maintain that spot against Keenum.
'Just compete my ass off and try to put myself in the best position possible, and I'm sure everybody in that room and in the building will do the same,' Bagent said.
Keenum, though, has also turned into a great resource for Bagent, who shared a story from the first NFL game he attended: The Giants' 41-35 win in overtime over Washington on Dec. 22, 2019. Keenum led a 14-play, 99-yard scoring drive for Washington that day to force overtime.
'I'm about five rows up behind the end zone and they're backed up on their own 1,' Bagent said, recalling how Keenum nearly stepped out of bounds before one of his best completions. 'And just the angle and the drive that followed was something that I didn't forget.'
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Bagent brought that game up to Keenum the moment he met him.
'What a guy,' Bagent said. 'What he brings to the room, really just an encyclopedia of information. Just somebody that's been in every role that a quarterback could possibly be in in the NFL, and I've just been trying to take advantage of that. … He's been great with answering every question that really everybody in the room has so far.'
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland could be getting closer to returning after shoulder surgery. He was spotted in uniform, accompanying staff members to other practice fields at Halas Hall while the rest of the team practiced on Fields 1 and 2.
'I just knew the springtime here, he wasn't going to be available,' Johnson said, 'and at some point here in camp, we should get the green light.'
(Top photo of Darnell Wright, left, and Jonah Jackson: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)