Bear Digest

Bears Rookie Minicamp Primer: Passing Connection Debuts

Bears rookie minicamp begins with roster hopefuls participating on a tryout basis and first-round phenoms Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze donning the navy and orange for the first time.

Gene Chamberlain

Participants at the first Bears rookie minicamp under coach Matt Eberflus run through a drill.
Participants at the first Bears rookie minicamp under coach Matt Eberflus run through a drill. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The only thing less important to football fans than organized team activities and all off-season voluntary or mandatory practice is rookie minicamp.

It sits alone at the bottom because the majority of the players coming to these for a few practices will not even be part of OTAs or minicamp or anything else for that matter.

The Bears have rookie minicamp Friday and Sunday and a group of players will wear jersey numbers that actually belong to someone else. Players will run some plays without pads on and without contact.

At the end, a few of the players involved on a tryout basis will be brought back for OTAs and virtually none of the undrafted free agents signed after Saturday will make the final 53-man roster.

For every Cameron Meredith—a receiver who had a Bears and NFL career after coming to a rookie minicamp on a tryout—there are literally hundreds in the same classification at rookie camps who will never be on any team's 53-man roster.

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The event does have some minor value this weekend. Here's what can be seen at the Bears rookie minicamp.

The First Time Ever

Caleb Williams will wear Bears uniform No. 18 for the first time and throw his first passes. He'll throw them to Rome Odunze, who will wear No. 15 for the first time ever and make his first Bears practice catches.  There has to be a first time for everything.

Throwing and beating coverage from undrafted free agents and a few veterans trying to make the roster isn't much to go by, but at least it's a football being thrown and caught.

Third Round vs. Fifth Round

It might be a surprise if the Bears have third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie lining up across from fifth-round pick Austin Booker in non-contact scrimmaging.

That's because Amegadjie had a torn quad muscle and season-ending surgery last year during his final Yale season after four games. He couldn't work at the Senior Bowl, although he did go to Mobile. He also couldn't work at the combine but was measured and weighed in. It was there where his 36-inch-plus arms were documented.

At a pro day, Amegadjie did bench press but not the running, and had 21 reps at 225 pounds according to reports.

It's possible the Bears may want him to play it safe and stay away from immediate work so he's entirely ready for training camp.

Booker, the Kansas edge rusher, will get to flash his skills to the extent a pass rusher can when they can't touch the quarterback or really hit anyone.

Third Tight End-Go-Round

The Bears need a third tight end and undrafted tight end Brenden Bates from Kentucky, undrafted free agent rookie tryout player Shelton Zeon, undrafted rookie free agent tryout player Geor'quarius Spivey from Mississippi State and veteran tryout player Tommy Sweeney, the former Buffalo Bill, will be trying to get a spot on the OTAs roster to compete for that third tight end spot with veteran 2023 Bears practice squad tight end Stephen Carlson.

Two players who already signed futures contracts with the Bears will take part in the workouts.

This includes defensive back Douglas Coleman III and long snapper Cameron Lyons.

First Glance

Some of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's plays for the new Bears offense will be seen for the first time, albeit in very rudamentary fashion without pads and contact.

QB Help

Austin Reed, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound undrafted free agent from Western Kentucky will throw when Williams isn't throwing.

He actually has some credentials better than Tyson Bagent brought to the Bears last year.

Reed participated in the combine but didn't get drafted. He did run a 4.82-second 40.

Reed has an Illinois past even though he came from St. Augustine, Fla. He committed to Southern Illinois and in 2018 was with the Salukis but then transfered to Division II West Florida and led the Argonauts to the DII national title with 40 TD passes and 11 interceptions.

Then he went to Division I Western Kentucky in the transfer portal and played there in 2022-23, piling up

Shhhh ... It's a Secret

There's little that will get out about what actually goes on with players on the field at rookie minicamp. The Bears have a policy of not allowing any detailed reporting of these events unless it's something Matt Eberflus comments on directly after questions. Eberflus is talking to media before the first practice, but not again after it. So good luck getting anything beyond "Joe Blow caught a pass or threw a pass."

Practice is at 12:20 p.m. Friday and 11:25 p.m. Saturday. They are, of course, closed to the public.

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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.