Bear Digest

Austin Booker Part of Extreme Bears Defensive Line Rotation

Tracking the Bears at Camp: Rookie Austin Booker would like to be operating in the shadows and sneak up on NFL offenses as an edge rusher.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams on First Preseason Game.mp4
Caleb Williams on First Preseason Game.mp4 /
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Austin Booker wants to sneak up on NFL offenses.

"I feel like it helps me," the Bears rookie defensive end said. "I'm gonna continue to get better in the shadows and they're not going to know what's coming."

Booker hopes to become a counter punch when DeMarcus isn't playing at defensive end, or when Montez Sweat leaves for a rest.

The Bears have been unveiling a new defensive line look and did so again in a portion of Monday's practice. They moved Booker onto the field in a pass-rushing mode, then put Walker inside from end to 3-technique defensive tackle. Regular 3-technique Gervon Dexter then moved over to the other defensive tackle or nose spot.

"It's just going to open it up because I'm a sleeper," Booker said. "Not many people know about me.

"So having the slide go to them, I get a one-on-one on my side, just being able to take advantage of that one-on-one and getting free will be big this year."

They've also experimented a bit with Dexter moving outside to end as they try all possible mixes of rush men.

Giving Booker exposure to facing the first-team offensive line is something the Bears hope speeds up his development.

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"It's been great," Booker said. "I've been able to see what the Ones' offensive line looks like and getting a better look than going against the Twos. It's been a great opportunity and just making the best of it."

Some players' roles in preseason games might be little or inconsequential. Booker's will be the opposite. Booker wants to show the Bears the quick development that they need to see in the pass rush before they decide whether to add another available pass rusher.

So his goal is simple Thursday.

"Just that I can transfer what I do in practice to games and that's really the biggest thing," he said. "Just that and continuing to improve."

Booker feels he's doing enough to excite coaches and GM Ryan Poles. Besides playing end, he has even moved inside to tackle in some rushing situations at only about 242 pounds.

"I had some great plays in the rookie camp, I had some great plays in OTAs, and I feel like this camp I've also had a lot of great plays," Booker said. "I feel like it's just continually reassuring,

"I feel like it wasn't one big thing but I feel like I belong."

It's not perfect. He is a rookie and realizes he has much to improve.

"Just keep getting better, my pad level, my get off, just the basics," he said. "Getting in the playbook more, mastering the playbook. Just those three things."

When the Bears drafted Booker it seemed a stretch to expect a fifth-round pick who had eight career sacks hadn't been a starter until his final year as a key rush contributor. He had transferred from two non-descript seasons at Minnesota to Kansas, but the final year proved critical to getting him into the NFL.

"One hundred percent, nobody knew who I wass until two or three games in and then I started to get scouted," Booker recalled.

Now he hopes to have NFL offensive linemen learn about him the same way.

Lining Up

Guard Nate Davis did not practice after he had missed Saturday's practice with what coach Matt Eberflus said was "tightness." Asked if Davis is still the starting right guard when healthy, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said "Nate's still there. Yes."

Again, the line had Coleman Shelton play center and center Ryan Bates play right guard for Davis. Bates played guard five times as often as he played center while with the Bills. ... First-year player Jerome Carvin from Tennessee played center with the second unit in one set for full squad scrimmage. Normally Doug Kramer had been doing it. ... New Bears running back Demetric Felton had a couple of carries in red zone near the goal-line area on his very first day of practice. ... Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon missed for the fifth straight practice. A new slot cornerback has been getting occasional first-team snaps when backups Josh Blackwell and Greg Stroman are not on the field. Undrafted Troy rookie Reddy Steward had several plays with the first team as the slot cornerback. Steward had intercepted Caleb Williams at Saturday's practice. He played in the red zone full squad and also in the regular full squad work done near midfield. ... Braxton Jones handled almost all of the first team work at left tackle after battling through an unspecified injury earlier in camp.

Active Guys

Wide receiver DeAndre Carter showed up big as a receiver three times in drills, one for a long catch-and-run. ... Cornerback Jaylon Jones had a pass breakup but also got victimized by Carter on one completion.

Subbing Out

During Saturday's practice, media came away perplexed about a two-minute drill for the first team without receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. The Bears are getting ready for any eventuality, it seems.

"I think everything in training camp is always gonna be based on individual players with rep counts, with having that big vision to get to that first game against Tennessee healthy and ready to roll," Waldron said. "So there's gonna be different parts of practice where certain players are in and certain players are out."

Fake Miss

Cairo Santos made one 55-yard field goal but then missed a 42-yarder while kicking indoors at the Payton Center. The Bears don't have goal posts up inside. They used to have them, but now they have a net with a fake goal post on it to proper goal post dimensions. Santos' kick went wide of the fake post by a few inches, so it wouldn't have been a fake doink, just a fake miss.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.