Tag: 2021 OTAs

WATCH: Highlights from second week of Bears’ voluntary OTAs

Check out highlights from Wednesday’s practice during the Bears’ second week of OTAs.

The Chicago Bears kicked off the second week of voluntary Organized Team Activities this week, where players took the field ahead of mandatory minicamp next week.

Wednesday’s practice gave us another look at rookie quarterback Justin Fields and veteran Andy Dalton, who remains the team’s starter at this point of the offseason. Fields continued to impress during the offseason workouts, which included a bomb to wide receiver Damiere Byrd for a touchdown that left everyone impressed.

A couple of second-year players in wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet were also on display, as their roles in 2021 will continue to expand. The Bears have a nice, young core on offense with Fields, Mooney and Kmet.

While there were a few videos from the media that made their way online, the Bears released highlights from Wednesday’s practice during the second week of OTAs.

https://youtu.be/e9dG-1iAA9M

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Bears WR Darnell Mooney had the perfect response to Jalen Ramsey drama

Bears WR Darnell Mooney was asked about the drama with Rams CB Jalen Ramsey. And Mooney’s going to let his play do the talking.

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney had an impressive rookie season for the Chicago Bears. But it could’ve been even better if he had more consistent quarterback play, especially when it came to deep balls where he was consistently overthrown.

One of those plays that stands out came against the Los Angeles Rams last year, when Mooney burned cornerback Jalen Ramsey and got open for what could’ve been a 95-yard touchdown.

Bears fans, clearly excited about what Mooney could do with an accurate quarterback, had some fun with Ramsey online earlier this offseason. Someone changed Mooney’s Wikipedia page to say he’s Ramsey’s father, which means to say Mooney got the best of him last season.

As you can imagine, Ramsey didn’t take kindly to being trolled by Bears fans.

“Can’t wait til week 1 so all these lame ass Bears fans can stfu about they number 2 wr,” Ramsey wrote on Instagram in response.

So when Mooney met with the media on Wednesday at OTAs, it wasn’t a surprise that he was asked about the Ramsey drama. And he actually had the perfect response.

Mooney didn’t take the bait. He just smiled and talked around the question, recognizing the stacked schedule of defensive backs he and the rest of the Bears’ receiving corp are set to face in 2021.

“There’s a lot of defensive players that are on our schedule,” Mooney said. “There’s a lot of strong defensive backs. It’s going to be a good year, a lot of fun this year. I’m looking forward to playing.”

Still, the media tried their best to get something out of Mooney. When Mooney was asked who he was most looking forward to playing, Mooney held strong.

“Not really, man,” he said. “I’m just looking to [winning] every game that we have and I’m looking forward to winning the Super Bowl this year.”

While Mooney didn’t address the drama directly, it was clear that he’s ready to let his play do the talking. Which we’ll see right out of the gate when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.

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Bears QB Justin Fields has that ‘rip your heart out’ mentality with his deep ball

One of Justin Fields’ biggest strengths is his deep-ball accuracy, which is something Matt Nagy raved about at Bears OTAs on Wednesday.

The quarterback position has been a detriment to the Chicago Bears for the better part of a few decades. The Bears are hoping that rookie Justin Fields changes that narrative.

Fields continues to impress during the offseason program, which continued during Wednesday’s OTA practice. Despite some hiccups with quarterback-center exchanges, Fields once again showed impressive growth.

One of Fields’ strengths is his deep-ball accuracy, something that Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles struggled with last season. It’s one of the reasons the Bears traded up for Fields with the 11th overall pick. And it’s something that has left coach Matt Nagy in awe.

“(Fields) has that mentality of rip your heart out,” Nagy told reporters Wednesday. “And so there were a couple of plays in there — and not just (Wednesday) but other days — where these quarterbacks are staying aggressive.”

Fields had a few beautiful deep balls during Wednesday’s practice, including a beauty of a bomb to wide receiver Damiere Byrd for a touchdown that left Nagy singing Fields’ praises.

“We talk about ‘air time,'” Nagy said. “‘Air time’ meaning when the wide receiver looks like he’s covered to everybody in the stadium — but when that ball touches the top of the stadium and starts coming down, the wide receiver separates. And that’s what happened on that ball. And [Byrd] made a hell of a catch.”

If there’s someone who looks to benefit most from Fields’ deep-ball accuracy it’s wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who clocked a 4.38 40-time and is someone who got open deep several times to no avail.

In fact, Fields’ first deep ball to Mooney left the second-year wideout smiling mid-route.

“It’s a beautiful ball, man,” Mooney said. “He knows where he wants to put it, and it’s very accurate. And sometimes it can get there at the right [time], but he wants it out in front of you, and he’ll give pressure to himself if it’s not there.”

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Bears WR Darnell Mooney was ‘smiling mid-route’ on first deep ball from QB Justin Fields

If there’s anyone who serves to benefit from the addition of Bears rookie QB Justin Fields, it’s second-year WR Darnell Mooney.

If there’s anyone who serves to benefit from the addition of Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields, it’s second-year wideout Darnell Mooney, who had an impressive rookie season that could’ve been even more impressive with better quarterback play.

During Wednesday’s open practice during the second week of voluntary Organized Team Activities, Fields was lauded for his deep ball, including a beauty for wide receiver Damiere Byrd that resulted in a touchdown.

Someone else who’s already taking notice of Fields’ deep ball is Mooney, who got open deep several times as a rookie but was overthrown. Lucky for Mooney, one of Fields’ biggest strengths is his deep-ball accuracy, something that had Mooney smiling on his very first catch from the rookie.

For someone like Mooney who is looking to be a bigger threat in 2021, having an accurate passer — especially deep downfield — is something that should have Mooney excited.

“It’s a beautiful ball, man,” Mooney said. “He (Fields) knows where he wants to put it and it’s very accurate. Sometimes it can get there at the right ball, but he wants it out in front of you and he’ll get frustrated with his self if it’s not there. He’s very tough on his self. He’s a great player, great person as well, and he’s gonna have a good career.”

And if Fields continues to impress during training camp, we might just see the start of his career sooner rather than later.

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LOOK: First videos from Bears’ OTA practice on Wednesday features Justin Fields

Bears media members in attendance at OTAs have shared quick videos from Wednesday’s practice, including highlights from Justin Fields.

The Chicago Bears kicked off their second week of voluntary Organized Team Activities on Monday, and Wednesday marked the first open practice of the week.

Once again, rookie quarterback Justin Fields impressed during practice, garnering praise from wide receiver Darnell Mooney, running back Damien Williams, coaches and media members alike.

Bears media members in attendance have been sharing quick snippets from Wednesday’s practice — which will only be available for 24 hours, per the Bears’ media policy — including another look at Fields and veteran Andy Dalton.

It’s not much, but it’s something. Until the official highlights are released.

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Here’s what people are saying about Justin Fields’ impressive Wednesday practice at Bears OTAs

Justin Fields continues to garner recognition for his play during Bears OTAs, including Wednesday’s practice where he had some great throws.

The Chicago Bears kicked off their second week of voluntary Organized Team Activities on Monday, where players took the field at Halas Hall ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp.

While it’s been a quiet couple of days without media attendance, Wednesday was a busy day. Media members were allowed at Wednesday’s practice, which meant that we got our latest dose of rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who continues to dominate offseason headlines.

While Fields wasn’t perfect — he struggled a bit with quarterback-center exchanges — he continues to impress coaches, teammates and media members.

Fields had a nice deep ball to wide receiver Damiere Byrd for a touchdown, which garnered plenty of praise. For comparison sake — since we do have a quarterback competition this offseason — veteran Andy Dalton tossed three interceptions during 7-on-7 drills.

While you can’t make significant judgements based on a few practices, it’s clear that Fields continues to impress as he transitions to the NFL.

Now, whether or not his performance in training camp is enough to win the starting job over Dalton remains to be seen. But it only feels like a matter of time.

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Here’s what people are saying about Justin Fields’ impressive Wednesday practice at Bears OTAs

Justin Fields continues to garner recognition for his play during Bears OTAs, including Wednesday’s practice where he had some great throws.

The Chicago Bears kicked off their second week of voluntary Organized Team Activities on Monday, where players took the field at Halas Hall ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp.

While it’s been a quiet couple of days without media attendance, Wednesday was a busy day. Media members were allowed at Wednesday’s practice, which meant that we got our latest dose of rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who continues to dominate offseason headlines.

While Fields wasn’t perfect — he struggled a bit with quarterback-center exchanges — he continues to impress coaches, teammates and media members.

Fields had a nice deep ball to wide receiver Damiere Byrd for a touchdown, which garnered plenty of praise. For comparison sake — since we do have a quarterback competition this offseason — veteran Andy Dalton tossed three interceptions during 7-on-7 drills.

While you can’t make significant judgements based on a few practices, it’s clear that Fields continues to impress as he transitions to the NFL.

Now, whether or not his performance in training camp is enough to win the starting job over Dalton remains to be seen. But it only feels like a matter of time.

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WATCH: Highlights from start of Bears’ voluntary OTAs feature Justin Fields, Andy Dalton

Check out highlights from the first open practice during the Bears’ first wave of OTAs on Wednesday.

The Chicago Bears kicked off voluntary Organized Team Activities this week, which veterans and rookies took to the practice field at Halas Hall.

Wednesday’s practice gave us another look at rookie quarterback Justin Fields and the veteran he’ll be looking to supplant in Andy Dalton. And the pair of quarterbacks got plenty of reps with Chicago’s offensive weapons.

The Bears had near perfect attendance on offense during Wednesday’s practice, where wide receiver Allen Robinson and quarterback Nick Foles were the only players who were not in attendance. Linebacker Roquan Smith was the only defensive starter that participated in practice.

Although, Matt Nagy made it clear that just because players have chosen to sit out practice doesn’t mean they haven’t been participating in the virtual meetings.

While there were a few videos from the media that made their way online, the Bears released highlights from the first open practice during the first wave of OTAs on Wednesday.

https://youtu.be/J2OpJ-2DVzM

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Top photos from Vikings’ OTAs so far

Here are the top photos from the Minnesota Vikings’ OTAs so far!

The Minnesota Vikings already finished up rookie camp and there were some good photos to come out of that. Now, the Vikings are in the midst of OTAs.

Third-round pick and rookie quarterback Kellen Mond will certainly be an interesting name to watch during this time. It’s not an exaggeration to say that how Mond develops could change the trajectory of this franchise, given the value of the quarterback position and the fact that he will be on a rookie deal for the near future.  Minnesota has plenty of other storylines from OTAs as well, like Danielle Hunter, for instance.

So here are the top photos from OTAs so far: