Bears $1.2 Million Free-Agent Signing Pushing Prized Rookie Luther Burden III For Key Spot

Bears $1.2 Million Free-Agent Signing Pushing Prized Rookie Luther Burden III For Key Spot originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Caleb Williams will be the straw that stirs the Chicago Bears’ drink in 2025, but the team’s newcomers will play a major role in the level of success the team enjoys during the upcoming season. In this instance, we have two newcomers who will apparently be in a battle for the slot receiver position.

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Rookie WR Luther Burden III was taken in the second round and most have him penciled in as a major contributor out of the slot and potentially as a return man. However, veteran slot receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has been making a mark. Football analysts Ruthie Polinsky and Clay Harbor believe Zaccheaus isn’t making LB3’s ascension clear cut.

“Okay, let’s look at the slot receiver because you’ve got Luther Burden III and this is a bigger competition than people think. Okay, look at today. Olamide Zaccheaus man, they’ve been looking at him a lot,” Harbor said.

Here is a look at one of the connections Williams made with Zaccheaus during camp:

Zaccheaus is coming in a bit under the radar after signing a one-year, $1.2 million deal following a solid season in a similar role with the Washington Commanders.

“I mean, you keep saying 14,14,14 and I’m looking down. I’m like, yep, that’s Olamide Zaccheaus,” Polinsky said. “I keep checking. They keep going to him. Obviously Luther Bird and the third not out there. Colston Loveland’s not out there. Those are two guys that we know are going to get some opportunities to prove themselves. But it’s been really interesting to see Olamide Zaccheaus who’s super quick and fast and has great hands.”

Zaccheaus has the look of a guy who could emerge as one of the team’s minicamp stars.

“You like him because you can trust him, right?,” Harbor asked rhetorically. “You can trust him, but he’s extremely quick. You’re obviously going to have a number of packages for Luther Burden III. But I think after watching Zaccheaus, he has a number of packages for himself as well. He’s extremely quick. He’s a good blocker. He’s catching everything. He’s just this guy that’s crafty quick will do whatever you want him to do to help the team win the game. Dirty stuff. But also you saw me at 500 yards last year, 45 catches with a team that made it to the NFC championship game. That counts for something.”

I have all the confidence in LB3 becoming a major playmaker in the NFL.

That said, if Zaccheaus proves to be a playmaker too, his presence will only give head coach Ben Johnson more toys to play with on offense. That’s potentially bad news for opposing defenses.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.

Bears $1.2 Million Free-Agent Signing Pushing Prized Rookie Luther Burden III For Key Spot

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