Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With the first padded practice of Bears training camp in the books, here are the players who impressed on Tuesday.
The pads are on! The Chicago Bears are fully geared up for the first time during training camp, and several players are already using that to their advantage.
Players that were already having a strong camp elevated their play with their gear on, and the Bears who rely more on their physicality were able to make a much bigger impression.
Here are the Bears’ biggest standout players from day six of training camp.
See the ratings that Bears defensive tackles Justin Jones, Gervon Dexter and others notched in Madden 24.
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The Chicago Bears had arguably the league’s worst defensive line last season, where there’s been some overhauling specifically along the interior.
EA Sports has started releasing Madden 24 ratings, continuing with defensive tackles. Veterans Justin Jones and Andrew Billings led the way for the Bears. Jones earned a 74 rating (31st) and Bills notched a 72 rating (41st).
Jones was easily the best defensive lineman this season, and he provided consistency to Chicago’s weakest position group. Poles praised Jones as one of the most consistent playmakers along the defensive front this season, where he led the team in tackles for loss and was second in QB hits.
Billings was signed in free agency to shore up the defensive line. He’s a dominant run stuffer who should immediately upgrade what was one of the NFL’s worst run defenses last season.
Elsewhere, Chicago’s rookie defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens received their ratings. Dexter landed a 68 with Pickens earning a 67. Dexter and Pickens will serve as important rotational pieces along the defensive line, even thought they might not start immediately, as rookies.
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At No. 9 on our Most Important Bears series is Justin Jones, the clear leader in an overhauled interior defensive line group.
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.
Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
At No. 9 is defensive tackle Justin Jones, who will still be counted on as a leader of the defense despite having added competition.
There’s plenty of excitement surrounding this Bears rookie class. Here are the most intriguing rookies to watch at training camp.
The Chicago Bears have an intriguing 2023 rookie draft class, headlined by first-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright.
General manager Ryan Poles addressed a slew of needs with his 10 draft picks, where many of these rookies are expected to contribute immediately this season.
As the Bears prepare for training camp later this month, this class of rookies has a lot to prove and learn ahead of some valuable preseason action in August.
Here’s a look at the eight most intriguing Bears rookies to watch during training camp:
Next up in our Bears training camp preview is the interior defensive line, featuring news faces like Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter.
Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, so it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.
We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, breaking down every player by position and examining the group’s biggest question.
Up next is the interior defensive line, a focus area of the Bears this offseason, signing free agent Andrew Billings and drafting rookies Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens and Travis Bell.
Like most teams, the Bears have more defensive linemen on the roster heading into training camp than they will have in Week 1 of the regular season. Most teams will aim to be two-deep at each position, meaning only four of the seven linemen on the depth chart will suit up against Green Bay on Sept. 10.
Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ interior defensive line heading into training camp:
At No. 21 in our Most Important Bears series is Gervon Dexter, who the Bears hope is the future on the interior of the defensive line.
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.
Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
No. 21 on the list is rookie defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, who the Bears hope is the future on the interior of the defensive line.
Our next player in our Most Important Bears of 2023 series is Andrew Billings, a massive defensive tackle who will improve the run defense.
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.
Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
Up next at No. 23 is defensive tackle Andrew Billings, a new addition to the defensive line who will be tasked with improving the team’s run defense.
We looked at every Bears offseason acquisition made by Ryan Poles to determine which ones were the best.
When the Chicago Bears take the field for the first training camp practice later this month, there will be plenty of new faces to see. General manager Ryan Poles was busy this offseason, overhauling areas of the Bears in hopes of improving upon a league-worst 3-14 record.
But with premium draft capital and the most available cap space of any team in the league, Poles made plenty of moves to bring in new players that should help the Bears rebound. Some moves were flashy signings that took place at the start of free agency. Others were late-round draft picks who could turn out to be steals. But which ones were the best?
Here is our ranking of the best Bears offseason moves thus far in 2023.
Let’s take a look at the Bears players from this recent draft class who could carve out a starting role in 2023.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles made it clear his intent it to build through the draft, and we saw that from the impacts of his first rookie class. And that certainly looks to be the case with his 2023 class.
Poles addressed some big holes on the roster with some potential impact players in the draft, including some who are expected to start immediately as rookies — or could very well be starting by season’s end.
There are five Bears from this recent 2023 draft class who should crack the starting lineup this season. Let’s take a look:
At No. 25 in our Most Important Bears series is rookie DT Zacch Pickens, who helps reinforce a defensive line that struggled in 2022.
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.
Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
Up next is defensive tackle Zacch Pickens at No. 25, who was drafted to fix the holes on the defensive line.
