The Chicago Bears played football Thursday and, while it wasn’t a regular season game in front of thousands of fans at Soldier Field, they are in the first phase of preparation for what should be an exciting year.
Organized team activities kicked off this week at Halas Hall, where many Bears starters participated in the voluntary practices, giving veterans and rookies alike their first taste of football action in months.
The 2024 rookie draft class is in the spotlight through the first few practices, with many eager to see if rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will look every bit the wildly talented passer that he was last year with USC.
While Williams had his way with the defense on the first day of OTAs, per safety Kevin Byard, the defense fought back on Thursday. The offense struggled to move the ball against a much more experienced defense, as they learn Shane Waldron’s new offense and were down two starting wide receivers and two offensive linemen.
The leap from college to the NFL is massive; most rookies struggle to make the adjustment at first. But the Bears also aren’t taking things slow when it comes to Williams’ acclimation to the offense.
“We’re not holding back,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “We’re giving him a lot of information. We’re giving him the offense and you want to be able to go through the whole offense before the offseason gets done, primarily most of it, and work it into the summer. We’ll have a plan for him there and work him into training camp and then go from there.”
It’s easy to fall into the trap of scrutinizing every throw, catch, block and tackle when the fans have extremely limited access to what goes on behind the often-closed doors of Halas Hall.
It’s important to remember that the Bears have had several months off away from football — most of them did only light workouts to stay in shape. Offseason programs such as OTAs allow the players to shake off the rust and get back into playing shape. And, in this case, learn a new offense scheme. The Bears have a long way to go before they’re ready for the 2024 season.