Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland among Bears to watch in practice, game vs. Dolphins
The Bears have two, starting Friday against the Miami Dolphins at Halas Hall ahead of Sunday's preseason opener. Then they have the same setup next week when the Buffalo Bills come to town.
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'It will be good for us to see that speed and just a little bit of a different style of offense and defense,' Johnson said Tuesday. 'And same thing with Buffalo. You talk about a team that is a perennial Super Bowl contender right now with Buffalo. So, really good talent, and I think it'll be a good measure for where we're at as a unit.'
Thursday's practice was a shorter one in shells to prepare for what should be a long, physical preseason setting on Friday. Joint practices are getting more and more popular, allowing coaches to reduce snaps in the preseason games.
'It gets you going and it also gives players more opportunities to show what they can do,' defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said, 'especially with one less preseason game to help younger players be able to show what they can do against other competition and guys like myself always striving to get better to see how we stack up against somebody else. It's fun.'
With two big opportunities against another NFL team, here are 10 players who could gain a lot by how they fare against the Dolphins this weekend.
1. QB Caleb Williams: The starting quarterback valued his preseason reps last summer, and he got more than the Bears might have planned in the second game against the Cincinnati Bengals. That joint practice was a little tough because it rained, and then in the game, the first-team offense could not get a first down, so Williams kept trotting out there.
We'll see what the plan is for Week 1 of the preseason, but Williams gets to see a new defense and gets another set of opportunities to work on Johnson's play calls, getting in and out of the huddle, keeping an eye on the play clock and trying to make big plays. Camp hasn't been the smoothest for Williams, but he was sharp in Tuesday's physical practice. Maybe the competitive juices will help, too, on Friday and Sunday, to keep the offense moving while avoiding penalties and negative plays.
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2. LT Braxton Jones: This weekend should be the best opportunity yet for evaluation of the left tackle competition. Jones knows his experience will help him, but it'll be his first opponent since his ankle injury. Jones has been open in the past about his struggles with the bull rush. How he fares against that type of pass rush from Miami's front seven could play a role in the battle, too.
3. LT Ozzy Trapilo: Several rookies make this list, as we should learn a little more about them based on how they handle another NFL team. In Trapilo's case, he's done a nice job in practice thus far. It'll be a little different on Friday and Sunday. Can he use his 6-foot-8 height and length to fend off the Dolphins' edge rushers? Can he avoid penalties? He did both those well at Boston College, but this will be his first NFL action.
4. QB Tyson Bagent: If we're measuring player performance this summer on praise from coaches, Bagent is having a heck of a camp. 'Man, he's been phenomenal. I mean, he's smart as a whip,' Johnson said. 'Appreciate the seriousness and intent that he brings every time he walks into a room. Meeting room, walk-through, it doesn't matter. He's locked in. He's focused. I think his teammates feel that from him.' In the No. 2 quarterback battle, does Bagent need to show more than Case Keenum, who has years and years of tape?
5. CB Nahshon Wright: One of the surprises of camp, Wright has gotten the most reps as a starting outside cornerback in Jaylon Johnson's absence. 'He has been balling,' safety Kevin Byard said last month. 'He got a lot of turnovers in the spring. I have full trust in him. He's a veteran. He has been with (defensive backs coach) Al (Harris) in Dallas over there, so he already knows the defense, knows the technique and the things Al wants to get accomplished.' Wright is 6-4 and can use the joint practices to show he can contend with Miami's speedy receivers.
6. DE Dominique Robinson: Entering Year 4 with only two career sacks, and now with a new defensive staff, Robinson would be an easy candidate for the roster bubble. But he had a strong spring and has made some plays in camp. He's still competing to be the No. 3 with Austin Booker, making the Dolphins weekend a crucial one. 'He's still learning to play the defensive end position and every day he comes out here and works extremely hard,' defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. 'He's smart and he has ability. And so if you're smart and you have ability and you're willing to work, I think you're going to get better. I think he's done that. So I'm anxious to see him play in games and see what that looks like.'
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7. TE Colston Loveland: It's early, but it's already apparent what Loveland can bring to Williams and this offense. He's a smooth strider and a big target. What will that look like against the Dolphins' linebackers and defensive backs? Loveland isn't fighting for a job, but it'll be a great experience for him to keep growing, especially after he missed spring practices.
8. RB Kyle Monangai: Roschon Johnson missed Thursday's practice with a foot injury, which meant more reps for the seventh-round pick out of Rutgers. Monangai took advantage of his starter's reps in the two-minute drill when he ran for a first down on third-and-short to set up an end-of-half field goal. He's already gotten some time with the first-team offense, and he might get even extra snaps if Johnson can't go. 'He's been awesome,' Williams said. 'Still learning, still a young guy. We've all been there. But he's been awesome. Very, very smart guy. Hard runner. He's gonna put his nose down and get the yardage we need.'
9. WR Luther Burden III: Every rep matters for someone like Burden, who missed all of spring and the beginning of training camp. As accomplished as he was in college, Burden will have to learn about coverages and how to handle physical corners. The Dolphins and Bills can start to get him ready for what he'll see from Minnesota in the season opener.
10. LB Noah Sewell: Similar to Robinson, a Day 3 draft pick who hadn't done much in his first couple of seasons, Sewell figured to have a lot of work to do with a new staff. But he's the leader in the clubhouse to be the starting strongside linebacker. While that position won't be on the field a ton, Sewell has earned it with his play, and maybe most importantly by finally staying healthy. He can keep proving it with some big hits against the Dolphins.
(Top photo of Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)
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'You ask God for something. It's there,' he said. 'And you're going to complain about it? So, it's two ways you can look at it. You can look at it and be thankful and take full advantage of the opportunity. Or you can look at it like 'Dang. This is what I've been asking for, but I'm not prepared.' I've been able to sleep at night, knowing I was going to be playing. And then I just prepared as normal. Then that switch kicked in. When you're out there on the field, it feels different. Ball's ball. Ball has never been a problem for me.' Shedeur Sanders debut winners, losers: How Browns QB's performance impacts team Sanders may have just played himself into a serious contender for the Browns' starting job. After all, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has maintained that it's an 'open' competition. And if that's the case, Sanders, who played 45 snaps on nine series (excluding a kneel-down at the end of the first half), has at least earned the chance to get reps with the 1's and 2's. Stefanski evaded that question when I asked during his postgame news conference and also wouldn't touch the topic of the competition. The rookie wouldn't light a match, either. Sanders: 'I just think about when I got out there, doing what I've got to do. Everything else is not in my hand, so why worry about it? I just don't think that deep into everything because it's nothing you're going to be able to control. Why put energy into something that you can't control? The most you can do is hey, man, if you get your opportunity and your number's called, perform it. At least to the bare minimum to win the game.' There's fresh videotape out there now, however, showing Sanders making splash plays like he did at Colorado and demonstrating keen instincts during his big audition. It's a starting point. Never mind that the Browns didn't play starters and Carolina played first-teamers for only a couple series. As LeBron James so eloquently put it in a post on X, Sanders' performance shouldn't be discounted because he didn't play with or much against starters. Ah, social media. Sanders was such a trending topic on Friday night, just as he was during the NFL draft. His famous father, aka Coach Prime, didn't hesitate to put out a post amid the buzz. 'What now?' Deion asked on X. Stefanski and his staff – including Bill Musgrave, the Browns quarterbacks coach who was a teammate of Deion's on the San Francisco 49ers squad that won Super Bowl 29 – can assess so many layers of Sanders' performance. If you wanted to script a test to cover all of the bases, the Browns couldn't have done much better than compiling the 'situational football' scenarios from Friday night. Sanders operated in a nine-play drive and a two-play drive. On another possession, he faced back-to-back third-and-long plays, converting the first one after he rolled out and bolted from the pocket for a 9-yard run. Another time he powered under the pile to convert a quarterback sneak. Both of his TD passes came while positioned in the red zone. Another series had him backed up deep in his own end, then throwing from the end zone. At the end of the half, a hurry-up drill. Said Stefanski: 'The situations were invaluable for Shedeur, for all of our offense.' Then there's this other situation, reflecting uncharted territory for Sanders. Someone asked about his patience, given the scant opportunities while buried on the depth chart. 'It's different things and different life lessons you've got to go through,' he said. 'And I haven't gone through this situation that I'm in, ever. So, it's really just a test from God. I was just thankful that I was able to see the light of day and get out there and play.' Still, it's so striking that he produced so much from so few practice reps. 'I'm comfortable with being uncomfortable,' he declared. 'That's what it is. I've got pockets of finding my rhythm. I've got to get into that quicker, regardless of anything. But overall, I felt like me out there. 'I couldn't do it without the time, I couldn't do it without the play-calling,' he added. 'So, I'm just thankful to have the joy of just being on the field overall. And carrying the responsibility to do the right thing. So, that's two badges under my belt already.' And with that, Sanders re-wrote the narrative. 'My vow is to definitely make change,' he said. 'And change was made.' Which adds some major intrigue to the Browns' quarterback situation. Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@ or follow on social media: On X: @JarrettBell; On Bluesky: This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Could Shedeur Sanders performance shake up Browns QB depth chart?
