LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Williams was running to his right, with Tremaine Edmunds in hot pursuit. Bears tight end Cole Kmet knew his quarterback was in trouble and worked to find open space in the end zone.
Kmet lost his man and Williams saw that, volleying a deep shot right into Kmet’s waiting arms.
Williams found Colston Loveland down the seam for a big gain in a 7-on-7 drill, but the rookie tight end’s best play can on a touchdown catch from reserve quarterback Case Keenum with Ruben Hyppolite all over him in tight coverage.
Those are recent examples of what we’ve seen throughout camp. Kmet and Loveland have both found ways to make an impact despite the presence of the other. Both tight ends are heavily involved in this offense whether they’re on the field at the same time or not.
Putting these talents together, as head coach Ben Johnson envisions, could spell real trouble.
“It’s really nice to be able to go a lot of different personnels with him and Cole, both very friendly targets that I think defenses will have issues when they decide to go man, who to put the linebacker on, who to put a safety on,” Keenum said in a Saturday press conference. “Creates a lot of mismatches for us.”
Both guys are agile, with good hands and a large catch radius. They have some unique abilities over one another.
Especially with how they’re being dispatched. Loveland moving across the formation, including outside the numbers, was expected. Maybe not so much for Kmet, though Johnson’s using him everywhere, too.
“He’s a little bit of a unicorn,” Johnson said on Thursday. “You can put him all over the place, in line to outside the numbers slot, I think you can move him around quite a bit. I think the beauty of having him outside the numbers is if you get him matched up on a safety or a linebacker even, then that’s going to be a favor for us. You know, that’s going to be a good thing. He’s going to be able to win those matchups on a consistent basis. He’s such a large target that if you put it somewhere close to him, he will find a way to come down with it.”
Johnson likes using 12 personnel and the Kmet-Loveland combi gives him a chance to weaponize that package and do so many different things. He can also use them separately and as part of a larger receiving corps, trying to establish mismatches.
“You’re always looking for those types of guys,” Johnson said. “Sean Peyton has a special name, a joker is what he calls them in his offense, and guys that you can move around a lot and uses a chess piece, those are fun guys to play with.”
Left tackle battle continues
Rooke second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo took every first team rep at left tackle during Saturday’s practice, a somewhat unique development after we’ve seen a rotation at that spot even within individual sessions. Braxton Jones worked with the second unit, with Theo Benedet over there some, too. Kiran Amegadjie did not participate in the practice with a leg injury.
Left tackle is the biggest position battle being waged right now, with Trapilo, Jones and Amegadjie all currently in contention for the starting spot.
Johnson said coaches would discuss those three players on the Friday off-day, but offensive coordinaot Declan Doyle said Saturday that no final decisions have been made.
“We’re rotating those guys,” Doyle said. “There is a lot of football left to be played at that position in that battle. That is kind of just what the plan was for today, keep rotating them through. We’re still evaluating that spot.”
The Bears may, in time, make it a two-man competition, but we’re not there yet.
Injury update
Long snapper Scott Daly didn’t practice on Saturday due to a back injury suffered during Thursday’s padded practice. He was taken from the field on a cart, though it must be noted the Bears training room is a ways away.
Amegadjie is dealing with a leg injury, as previously mentioned and his timetable for return is unknown. Center Ricky Stromberg (concussion) remains out as well.
Starting right guard Jonah Jackson returned to action following a few days missed with a leg injury.
Rookie defensive lineman Shemar Turner (ankle) and defensive back Zah Frazier (personal) continue to miss time.
Practice notes
QB Caleb Williams continues to show signs of improvement, with greater consistency and fewer pre-snap issues. The touchdown throw to TE Cole Kmet was one only a handful on this planet make, a thing of beauty to be sure. Then Williams threw a bit behind a receiver on the next play that CB Nashon Wright intercepted, but there are more good moments than bad these days. He followed a dropped snap with an on-the-run fastball to WR Rome Odunze for a touchdown. He also converted a 4th-and-15 to Odunze with a perfect read where he worked through his progression. … DE Montez Sweat is having an excellent camp so far, with sacks called in the last two practices and heavy pressure generation over the last week. … The Bears didn’t do any special teams work on Saturday – the normally do a ton – in deference to unique individual drills on a rotational basis.
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