Bears rookie minicamp: What we learned from Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo

New York Times

10-05-2025

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner declined a golf cart ride to the practice field on Friday at the start of rookie minicamp.
For his first practice as an NFL player, he wanted to walk and soak it in.
'Dream come true, finally getting to do what I've been wanting to do for my whole life,' he said. 'I get to do this every day now.'
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For Turner, the rest of the 2025 draft class, 10 undrafted rookies and 23 rookie minicamp tryout players, Friday marked the first time they'd wear an NFL uniform. It was also coach Ben Johnson's first practice in front of the media, and our first chance to see top-10 pick Colston Loveland on the field — albeit, in a limited fashion.
Here's what we learned on Day 1 of Bears rookie minicamp.
As expected, Loveland didn't do much in practice. He underwent shoulder surgery in January.
'A priority for us is getting him back healthy because the sooner he gets healthy, then we get the full-speed reps and that's where it really all comes together,' Johnson said. 'It's more mental and we're going to take full opportunity with the time we have with him, call it six weeks in terms of getting him up to speed with not only what the veterans know mentally but how much can we walk through with him on the side to speed up the learning process.'
Sitting and watching wasn't easy for Loveland with his fellow rookies at work on Fields 3 and 4 at Halas Hall. 'Just take it slow,' he said. But Loveland is physically active.
'I'm working out; I'm running,' he said. 'I'm doing everything except like the weight is not as heavy, obviously. We're taking that day by day. Stacking bricks and getting better.'
It didn't take long for receiver Luther Burden III to make a noteworthy play during a Bears practice. He made a catch at his feet.
'Yeah, I caught it,' Burden confirmed. 'Yeah, that was my first catch. … It felt amazing. I'm super excited to go catch some more. A lot more.'
With Burden, the early storylines didn't change. He's happy to be a member of the Bears. Lions receiver Jameson Williams, a teammate and friend from East St. Louis High School, endorsed Johnson and his offense. 'He told me I'm gonna love it,' Burden said. 'So … let's go.'
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But he's still angry that he fell to the Bears at No. 39.
'That's staying with me forever,' Burden said. 'Everybody who passed up on me gotta pay.'
When Ozzy Trapilo had his sights set on the NFL, he knew it'd be important to show he could play multiple positions. So at Boston College, while starting at right tackle the past two seasons, he'd still find a way to get reps in on the left side.
'You have to be versatile. That's the quickest way to get on the field,' he said. 'So after practice, even though I was a right tackle the last two years in college, working left, making sure that it's still smooth, that it still feels good. Especially after the season, I was working even more left than right just because (I was) catching up for lost time.'
It's early — as early as it gets in the NFL practice calendar — but Trapilo is going to get some snaps on both sides, as evidenced by his first practice as a Bear.
Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy! pic.twitter.com/Xquz6HhLah
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 9, 2025
He said there weren't any notable obstacles to flipping over to the left side.
'In a way, if you're more used to playing right tackle at speed and you're still consistent with left, you feel good at left, it's almost easier when you're learning new technique because you don't get into that flow state,' he said. 'You know your habits are all coming back, you're hyper-focused on every movement because it's not as natural. So in a way it feels smoother, it feels easier to adapt to this new coaching style, new techniques and all of the above.'
Trapilo's top trait in college was being a technician, which can be tough at his size (6-foot-8). Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar will teach some new techniques, but Trapilo said everything is minor. Even if he's not in pads, he could get himself in good position over the next month in the left tackle conversation.
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'He's exactly what we thought he was going to be,' Johnson said. 'He's super smart. We had a meeting (Thursday) night with them. Meeting this morning with them. And he's able to apply those concepts to the field immediately, so he's very advanced in that regard. Technique, fundamentals, he takes those seriously, something we talked about this morning as a team, transferring the little things that Coach Roushar, (assistant offensive line) coach (Kyle) DeVan are talking about in that meeting room and being able to apply them immediately. It's really impressive for a young guy.'
For someone who is as outwardly excited as anyone to practice football in May, is it going to be tough for Turner to not hit anyone for a few months?
'No, sir,' he said, laughing.
Get used to the Bears' second-round defensive linemen being all smiles. After talking about his dream job, and soaking it in that this is what he gets to do every day, Turner went through some of the things he's focused on this weekend.
'Hand placement, feet, making sure I'm keeping my feet in the ground so I can get all my power, utilize everything, coming out of my hips,' he said. 'Just getting back to the basics that was overlooked.'
.@TheShemarTurner gettin' coached up 😤 pic.twitter.com/7ZLz1qXaEQ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 9, 2025
As expected, Turner said he will play wherever the coaches line him up, whether that's at defensive end or defensive tackle.
'Whatever they want me at, shoot, I'm gonna play it and I'm gonna be successful,' he said.
The Bears signed two rookies who play defensive end — Xavier Carlton and Jereme Robinson — likely allowing Turner to focus on his natural interior position during minicamp. He said the team wants him to stay in the 290-295-pound range.
From our limited time with Turner, it seems he's exactly what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen would want. What does Allen's defense ask for out of its defensive linemen?
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'Get lined up and win,' Turner said with that constant smile. 'Play ball, let's go.'
If you're a Bears fan looking at rookie jerseys, don't buy Burden's No. 87 quite yet. That could change after training camp when the roster looks different.
Asked why he chose No. 87, Burden said, 'All the good numbers were gone.' He wore No. 3 at Missouri. That's retired for Bronko Nagurski.
Loveland, though, likes his new No. 84 after wearing No. 18 at Michigan.
'I feel 80s are always a good number for a tight end,' Loveland said. 'No. 84, I was like, 'Yeah, let's do it.''
(Photo of Ozzy Trapilo, left: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)