The Chicago Bears reported to training camp Tuesday at Halas Hall and will hold their first practice Wednesday morning.
General manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus met with reporters to share their vision for the season along with updates about the team. Quarterback Justin Fields, wide receiver DJ Moore, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and safety Eddie Jackson also fielded questions.
Here are five notable things we learned.
The Bears designated Chase Claypool as “physically unable to perform” Sunday but removed him from that list a day later. “We just needed an extra day or two to get him right,” Poles said.
Now Claypool will have to prove he is physically strong during practices this week and into August. He dealt with an unspecified soft-tissue injury during organized team activities and minicamp and, according to Fields, also was bothered by a knee issue when several offensive players worked out together in Florida earlier this month.
Claypool’s availability will be worth monitoring throughout camp.
Darnell Mooney, meanwhile, has been cleared to practice as he comes back from tightrope surgery to repair a broken left ankle. But Poles emphasized that Mooney isn’t likely to be a full participant yet and will get an individualized plan that prioritizes his readiness for Week 1.
“We’re going to use our data and our performance staff to monitor where he’s at,” Poles said. “We’re going to make sure we have the right plan so he’s not pushed too fast. But we’re also not going to go too slow either.”
The Bears have been linked in league circles to veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who had 9 1/2 sacks in 2022 for the Indianapolis Colts. But while the Bears have been in contact with Ngakoue’s representatives, the sides haven’t found the sweet spot for a union to make sense from a business standpoint.
“We’re always going to search to improve our roster,” Poles said. “So if it’s a defensive end or (a player at) any other position that we think can enhance our team, we’re going to stay after them and stay engaged and see if we can improve our team that way.”
Poles also expressed optimism for in-house pass rushers DeMarcus Walker, Dominique Robinson and Trevis Gipson and made no promises that the Bears would add another established veteran.
“There’s a level of patience that comes with this,” he said.
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Jackson sent an attention-grabbing tweet last week, declaring, “I’m going to have one of the best seasons ever played by a safety!”
Asked Tuesday what prompted that public expression of confidence, Jackson smiled.
“It’s just the mindset,” he said. “You’ve got to speak it into existence.”
Heading into his seventh season, Jackson has been with the Bears for two trips to the playoffs and two last-place finishes. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2018 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2018 and 2019 but suffered through a 30-game drought without an interception in 2020 and 2021.
Last season Jackson rebounded with four interceptions before suffering a season-ending foot injury in late November.
Now he has designs on propelling the Bears to high-level success.
“I’m tired of the same old standard that the Bears have,” Jackson said. “Having the same results in and out every year. We want to make it to the playoffs and eventually make it to the Super Bowl.”
Since the Bears last won the NFC North in 2018, they have a 25-41 record.
“It’s very frustrating,” Jackson said. “Nothing about me is a loser. I hate losing. I feel like it shouldn’t be acceptable. So I just come in here working day in, day out, year in, year out to get this thing to where we know it can be.
“I feel like this year … we have a lot of key pieces where we really can do it. We really can turn it around.”
The most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players union created a longer runway in training camp before padded practices are permissible. This year the Bears will hold six practices before donning full pads.
Eberflus is eager to get to that stage, noting that he’s seeking to identify this team’s “elite competitors.”
“We want to make sure that is going to be a big focus for us because that’s how you win football games,” he said.
The team made two minor additions, signing linebacker Buddy Johnson and wide receiver Isaiah Ford, while clearing space by releasing punter Ryan Anderson and linebacker Sterling Weatherford.
