Tag: 2022 training camp

9 takeaways from Bears Family Fest training camp practice

The Bears held their 11th practice of training camp on Tuesday. Here’s what we learned from Family Fest:

The Chicago Bears made their first appearance at Soldier Field this year for their annual Family Fest on Tuesday, marking the team’s 11th practice this summer.

There were plenty of updates from media and fans in attendance, which included another strong showing from the defense and some encouragement from the run game. But there was also a black cloud that hung over Soldier Field after star linebacker Roquan Smith requested a trade just hours before Family Fest.

There was plenty to take in from practice and press conferences with general manager Ryan Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and offensive tackle Riley Reiff.

Following Tuesday’s practice, here’s a look at what we learned from Family Fest at Soldier Field:

Cowboys waive rookie, bring kicker Brett Maher back into fold

The Cowboys waived Jonathan Garibay and brought a familiar name back into the mix to compete for the starting kicker job. | From @CDBurnett7

Following the 2022 NFL draft, the Cowboys attempted to address the kicker position by bringing in undrafted free agent Jonathan Garibay. The Texas Tech product was lights out as a senior, making 49-of-50 on field goal attempts, including a game-winning 62 yarder against Iowa State.

During training camp though, Garibay struggled and Lirim Hajrullahu dominated the competition from the start. Hajrullahu spent time on the roster in 2021 and even went 5-for-5 on extra points in a win over the Falcons. Although Hajrullahu won the battle, he hasn’t won the war and the team auditioned four kickers on Tuesday. They decided to sign one, a familiar name, as Brett Maher is back with the organization.

Looking towards the new competition, Maher’s history in Dallas was one to be forgotten.

Coming in after the golden years of Dan Bailey, Maher was serviceable in 2018, making 80.6% of his field goal attempts but 2019 was the year to scrap. Maher went 20-for-30 on field goals that season, leading to his exit from Dallas despite booting some of the longest kicks in team history. The former Nebraska kicker made a comeback in 2021 with the Saints and was 88.9% on field goals, leading the Cowboys to call him back to the team.

Heading into the preseason opener on Saturday when the team visits the Denver Broncos, Maher and Hajrullahu will be competing for a job where it wouldn’t be out of the question for Dallas to add another kicker to the mix.

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‘He’s an alpha male’: Jayron Kearse looks to build on career year as ‘true leader’ of Cowboys safety group

Joe Whitt Jr. and Dan Quinn have had their eyes on Jayron Kearse for quite some time. The year was 2020. The safety, drafted in the seventh round out of Clemson, had started just five games in four seasons with the Vikings and compiled meager stats …

Joe Whitt Jr. and Dan Quinn have had their eyes on Jayron Kearse for quite some time.

The year was 2020. The safety, drafted in the seventh round out of Clemson, had started just five games in four seasons with the Vikings and compiled meager stats over 62 game appearances. He had intriguing size at 6-foot-4, but wasn’t being utilized much in Minnesota. So he chose to leave in free agency.

The Falcons’ newly-hired secondary coach and pass game coordinator, in his first season under head coach Dan Quinn, wanted him.

“We tried to get J.K. when we were in Atlanta; we just weren’t successful,” Joe Whitt Jr. said. “We had a plan for him.”

But there’s that old saying about best-laid plans.

Fast forward 12 months. Quinn had been fired by Atlanta and then hired to be the Cowboys defensive coordinator under Mike McCarthy. Quinn had brought Whitt to Dallas with him, once again as secondary coach and pass game coordinator.

And after less than a full season in Detroit and a few weeks on the Ravens practice squad, Kearse was on the market once again.

This time, Whitt got his man.

Kearse flourished in Dallas. Over 15 starts, he snared two interceptions (doubling his career total to that point), was the team leader in tackles (notching almost 30 more than the Defensive Rookie of the Year), and logged more defensive snaps than all but two of his teammates.

It was enough to earn him a $10 million two-year contract extension.

Indications are that the team will look to get their money’s worth out of the 28-year-old this season.

“We ask J.K. to go from one play playing safety, the very next play he’s playing Buffalo nickel, the very next play on third down he’s going to play the dime,” Whitt explained. “Three different plays, he’s playing three different positions. And you’ve got to remember, he has the green dot on his head. What we’re asking him to do is just very, very hard. And he does it a very high level. I don’t think he got the credit for what we asked him to do.”

That green dot is significant. From a nuts-and-bolts standpoint, it means Kearse is calling the plays in the defensive huddle, relaying messages from the coaches.

But beyond that, it speaks to the Florida native’s innate leadership qualities- qualities that Whitt admits he didn’t know about at first.

“I did not,” the assistant confessed. “That’s been a plus. He’s a true leader, he’s an alpha male. I did not know that about him. But he is all of that. And more.”

Whitt is an up-and-coming sideline star in the league and will have a head coaching job before long. And he sees some of the same traits in his free safety, who has- along with fellow veterans like Jourdan Lewis- started riding herd on the Cowboys’ younger players.

“We were just in the meeting room yesterday,” Whitt relayed, “and one of the young guys didn’t answer a question. I didn’t have to say anything. J.K. said, ‘Hey, listen. When we ask you something, you have to to pop it back.’ I don’t have to correct these guys… they’re correcting it before I even get to correcting it. That’s a benefit to us as coaches.”

Whether coaching is in Kearse’s distant future remains to be seen. Right now, he’s looking to build off the best season of his career on the field. And he’s doing it in a way that’s relatively new for safeties in a changing NFL.

“The middle of the field is open now,” Whitt explained. “You go back 10, 12, 15 years ago when I got into the league, the middle of the field was closed, You had more true, traditional Y-tight ends, U-tight ends. Now you have the Kyle Pittses of the world, you have what they do with [Travis] Kelce splitting them out. So you have to have a guy that has enough ability and strength to go out there and cover a Kyle Pitts, cover a [Darren] Waller… but at the same time, fit in the box: when they pull schemes and [have] tackles and guards getting on them, to have enough stoutness to do that, can blitz and play in the middle of the field. J.K. can do all those things.”

That size that once wooed Minnesota and Detroit is finally being put to proper use against some of the biggest and strongest pass-catchers in the  game.

“I love it,” Kearse himself said last week. “You have these high-profile tight ends who go for 150-200 yards, and I pride myself on not allowing 100 yards to those guys. That means a lot to me because there’s not a lot of guys who can stop them. There are a couple in the league I can turn on the tape and I can watch and learn from, because right now I feel like I’m the top guy when it comes to taking tight ends out of the game.”

His position coach agrees. And not just when it comes to tight ends.

“I believe J.K. is the best-covering safety in the league. If you go back and look,” Whitt offered, “last year at what he did in man situations, I think the film speaks for itself.”

Whitt- and others in Dallas- believe Kearse should have been named to the Pro Bowl last year.

For now, though, they’ll have to be content with the veteran who’s come into his own serving as the prototype for the new Cowboys safety.

Whitt already compares second-year man Israel Mukuamu to Kearse in his cover skills; he says rookie free agent Markquese Bell is similar in his physicality.

“They all play with a nasty mentality,” Whitt says of his safety group.

And with Kearse as a hybridized Swiss-Army-type player who can do a little bit of a lot of things, it makes the safety position- little more than a collection of warm bodies for so long in Dallas- a suddenly dangerous group for opponents to face.

With Kearse as the multitasking centerpiece.

“Malik Hooker has shown he’s a high-pedigree guy that, if he can stay healthy, can be a phenomenal player,” Whitt said. “And Donovan Wilson encompasses what our defense is about. We’re a run-and-hit physical defense, and he’s a tempo-setter. So when you put all three of those men on the field together at different targeting positions for the quarterback, they have to figure out who’s who and who’s doing what and what that person’s skill set is. And it makes it difficult for the quarterback.”

Forcing a change of plans for opposing offenses is, after all, the name of the game.

And as Kearse’s own trajectory has demonstrated, good things can happen when plans change.

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WATCH: Bears WR Darnell Mooney makes highlight catch at Family Fest

Darnell Mooney is showing he’s already in midseason form at Soldier Field with this highlight grab.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney has already made quite a few impressive catches at Soldier Field throughout his career and he’s not letting up, even in practice. The Bears held practice at their home stadium for their annual Family Fest on Tuesday morning and Mooney treated the fans in attendance to a treat, while also showing off his strong chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields.

During team drills, quarterback Fields dropped back and delivered a deep ball towards Mooney, who climbed the ladder over defensive back Jaylon Jones to make a one-handed grab on the sidelines. The play was caught on video by multiple fans in the stands, who erupted in applause.

Had the play taken place in a real game, the catch would have gone for about 25 yards across the 50-yard line.

Mooney is set to be the team’s top wide receiver this season after a season in which he caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns. He will be counted on as a big part of the passing game when the regular season starts. But if this play is any indication, Mooney is already showing that he’s in midseason form and it’s just the first of hopefully many highlights to come at Soldier Field this year.

Big Safety Energy among 10 takeaways to Cowboys first 2022 depth chart

Pollard still on ST? Rookies struggling to emerge as starters? What in the unofficial depth chart is going on here? Calm down, explanations analysis is here, including how to pronounce the kicker’s name. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2022 season. With the club getting ready to travel to Denver for a joint practice ahead of their opening preseason game, the order of things in many aspects are starting to settle in. The depth chart, at this point in the season, is a mixture of fact and motivation, with some slots still being deferential to veteran players despite the writing on the wall.

Here’s some quick instant analysis of what the chart tells us about where things stand as the club barrels towards the September 11 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

5 free-agent kickers whose phones need to ring from 214 area code

Dallas is working out four kickers this week, but why stop there to help solve the camp woes? Here’s 5 more names who should get calls. | From @KDDrummondNFL

There’s no position more on an island than NFL kicker. Save for the aberration fake attempt, they rarely are involved in a play that strays from their modus operandi. They come into the game with two edicts, make placekicks and send kickoffs to a specific part of the field. Okay, there’s the occasional onside attempt, and with Bones Fassel as the special teams coordinator, the job of a Dallas Cowboys kicker does come with some extra verbiage in the “duties include but not limited to” section of the posting.

Still, they aren’t asked to block, run, catch and very rarely have to make a tackle.  All of this means that the kicker position is interchangeable. There’s no concern about team chemistry or real need to get in sync with the other 10 players on the field. The kicker does his job in isolation. He sets up, approaches the holder and boots the ball. The timing necessary to avoid a block is on him, therefore the Cowboys ridiculous kicking situation thus far in 2022 training camp can be easily fixed.

Just bring in more bodies to try out.

Roquan Smith in attendance for Bears Family Fest after requesting trade

Roquan Smith is at Soldier Field for the Bears’ Family Fest just hours after he formally requested a trade.

Bears linebacker Roquan Smith is at Soldier Field for the team’s Family Fest, which comes hours after he formally requested a trade as contract negotiations have reached an impasse.

In a detailed message shared via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Smith said he lost trust in the organization in their attempts to take advantage of him during contract negotiations. He also feels like it hasn’t been so much as a negotiation rather than them pressuring him with a “take it or leave it” deal.

Smith has been trying to get a “fair” deal done since April, but he’s at the point where he feels “the new front office regime doesn’t value me here.”

Smith mentioned that he hadn’t spoken to the McCaskey family yet, and it almost sounds like a call to intervene on his behalf.

“Maybe they can salvage this, but as of right now I don’t see a path back to the organization I truly love,” Smith wrote.

For now, here’s a look at Smith — in his practice jersey — on the sidelines at Soldier Field:

Smith was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list before the start of training camp, where he’s remained involved during team meetings and taking in practices on the sideline.

While Smith requesting a trade doesn’t signal the end of his time in Chicago, it’s certainly shined a light on a situation that was apparently much worse than anyone expected.

Follow along with updates from the Bears’ Family Fest below:

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Live updates from Bears Family Fest at Soldier Field

Here are some live updates from those in attendance at Soldier Field for Bears Family Fest.

The Chicago Bears are getting a change of scenery on Tuesday as they head to Soldier Field for their annual Family Fest, which marks their 11th practice of training camp.

With media and fans in attendance, there’s plenty to keep an eye on during Tuesday’s practice, including how fans react to news that Roquan Smith has requested a trade. Injuries have been a focal point over the last few practices, so we’ll see if anyone returns to practice after an extra day off on Monday.

Here are some instant observations from those in attendance at the Bears’ 11th practice of training camp:

Stay tuned for live updates throughout practice, which starts around 10:35 a.m. CT.

Bear Necessities: Cornerbacks stepping up amid injuries in training camp

Injuries to some top Bears cornerbacks has given players further down the depth chart more opportunities.

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The Chicago Bears are dealing with some injuries at the cornerback, where they’ve been without rookie Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor, Tavon Young, Thomas Graham Jr. and Duke Shelley at times.

That’s allowed for some opportunities for players further down the depth chart to prove themselves with extended opportunities. That’s been especially true at nickel cornerback, where Gordon, Young, Graham and Shelley are experienced.

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams praised the play of the cornerback group as they’ve been battling injuries, which includes undrafted rookie Jaylon Jones, who recently saw time in the slot.

“It seems like each day we’ve had a different nickel person in there from the corner position, and they’re coming in there,” Williams said. “Sometimes it’s not, ‘Hey, are you making a play?’ Sometimes it’s coming in there, ‘Are you just doing your job? Are you a cog in the defense? And are you not giving up big plays? Or not giving up plays that you should have been in the right place?’ Really, the corner position — not just one person, but the corner position — those guys coming in, (Jaylon) Jones coming and playing that spot when he’s been outside.”

The hope is Gordon, Young, Graham and Shelley return soon — Vildor was back on Sunday. But until then, the guys further down the roster are holding things down at cornerback.

Report: Cowboys to work out new kickers, including Brett Maher

Brett Maher boomed several kicks of over 60 yards during 2 seasons with Dallas, but was let go after struggles from shorter distances. | From @ToddBrock24f7

With two kickers currently struggling in their battle for the starting job in Dallas, the team will reportedly bring in more competition.

That’s music to the ears of many Cowboys fans. But one of the kickers will be a song many wanted to never hear again.

Brett Maher, who kicked for the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019, is being brought back for a new tryout, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, who cited two individuals familiar with the situation.

Matt Ammendola, Cole Murphy, and JJ Molson will also come to Oxnard for workouts and a kicking evaluation.

Undrafted free agent Jonathan Garibay and former CFL star Lirim Hajrullahu have been underwhelming thus far at camp, though Hajrullahu seems to have taken a slight edge in his make percentage in recent days.

The Kosovo-born specialist went 8-for-8 on Monday, the first perfect day for either kicker in this year’s training camp. Garibay, the Texas Tech product, went 6-for-8.

Maher replaced Dan Bailey for the 2018 season. He ended that season with an 80.6% success rate on 36 field goals and connected on six of over 50 yards, including a then-franchise record 62-yarder versus Philadelphia. He repeated the feat early in 2019 with another 62-yard boot, and then hit a 63-yarder just a couple weeks later.

But frequent misses from more pedestrian distances led to his release in December of that season. He went on to practice squad slots with the Jets, Commanders, Texans, and Cardinals before landing with the Saints for a few weeks in 2021. He went 1-of-2 on field goal tries against the Cowboys in Week 13.

Ammedola was an NFL newcomer last season, making 13 of 19 field goals for the Jets, with a long of 49 yards.

Murphy comes from the USFL, where he went 11-for-12 with the Michigan Panthers, including a 60-yarder against New Orleans.

Molson is a UCLA alum who spent 2021 time on the Packers practice squad and was an emergency option behind Mason Crosby.

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