Bear Digest

The Most Surprising Bears for Training Camp and Preseason

With just one meaingless preseason game left and a few practice, it's apparent several Bears free agent acquisitions came to compete hard for roster spots.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville has the ball and looks to escape against Buffalo in a 33-7 Bears preseason win.
Bears linebacker Micah Baskerville has the ball and looks to escape against Buffalo in a 33-7 Bears preseason win. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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A running joke between Bears players and reporters at Halas Hall during the last few weeks has been humorous references to the length of this training camp.

Cole Kmet and a few others have made joking references to it.

It's been a long, long time since they walked into Halas Hall July 19, and the preseason ends Thursday night with more practices still to follow until Aug. 27 cuts. The final preseason game means little beyond possibly determining a few of the roster spots.

Training camp is a constant attempt at improvement but also a battle for jobs.

Through this elongated process some players have stepped forth who may not necessarily have been expected to play big roles or even put up a good fight for a job.

Here are the surprises of Bears training camp and preseason, and in some cases it could mean playing for the team in the regular season. In some, they fought the good fight and won't make the final cutdown.

1. WR Dante Pettis

Pettis was only a mediocre receiver in 2022 but then again, the offense itself wasn't good itself. He was a fair punt returner, sure-handed at least. Then came a neck injury against the Colts in preseason and IR all last year.

In this training camp he had a bit of a slow start but after the start of preseason he has been surging like a Kentucky Derby horse down the home stretch.

He leads the Bears with 98 receiving yards on five receptions.  Pro Football Focus has given Pettis a 91.1 receiving grade this preseason when he lines up in the slot, and he has five first-down catches to go with his two touchdown catches. He has a 155.3 passer rating when targeted out of the slot. His 80.3 overall offensive grade so far is third highest on the Bears among all wide receivers, backs and linemen. Anyone in competition with him has to be trailing and this doesn't even include the special teams benefits he provides as a punt returner. When Pettis signed a contract in the offseason to return, it just seemed like the Bears were trying to make certain they had a baseline player in case they couldn't find a return man. Pettis has been anything but a last option.

2. DE Daniel Hardy

He leads the team in sacks with 3 1/2 but has hardly been a one-dimensional player. He has the fourth-highes PFF run-stopping grade on the defense, too.

"His production has been really good in practice," defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. "You saw glimpses of that, I've seen glimpses of that before as we've moved through the offseason and throughout training camp. And he's finding a way to factor in during the preseason games. He's finding a way to win, to do it with the level of urgency that we need when we're rushing four guys. And he's in tremendous condition. His conditioning is outstanding."

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3. G Bill Murray

A team with plenty of right guard injury issues throughout camp has taken a good look at Murray with 37 pass blocks and 30 run blocks and Pro Football Focus grades him at 75.8, which is higher than any offensive lineman except Teven Jenkins and tackle Aviante Collins, who has 20 fewer reps. Murray was with the practice squad last year and no one would have given a second thought to him making the team, but he's been putting himself into position to surprise drafted players and other free agents who they signed.

4. TE Brenden Bates

Their undrafted free agent is trying to win a fourth tight end spot, if there is one. Battling against veteran comeback projects Stephen Carlson and Tommy Sweeney hasn't been easy and both have more catches than he does, but he has held his own ground and only Pettis has more receiving yards than Bates (86). None of the tight ends are within 10 yards of him. PFF loves his play, and has given him the second-highest offensive grade on the team for 49 total reps. He hasn't just been a receiver, either.  His 68.8 run-blocking grade is the highest of all the tight ends, higher even than Cole Kmet (65.3).

5. C Doug Kramer

The Bears have run the ball extremely well at the end of the last two preseason games once they had leads. Kramer's run blocking has been part of the reason, according to PFF grades. Only Collins, Jenkins and Ja'Tyre Carter have higher PFF run blocking grades, but Kramer has also blocked well for the pass. He's had 26 pass-blocking reps and 28 run-blocking reps. He's taken advantage of the reps he got with Ryan Bates sidelined.

6. DE Khalid Kareem

While fifth-round draft pick Austin Booker was expected to make some kind of impact as a pass rusher, Kareem has turned heads with his overall improvement. He was on the practice squad and roster last year. He has a sack and nine tackles, as well as a hurry and deflected pass. Kareem's overall PFF grade of 83.9 on defense is the second highest of any Bears defensive player and he has played more snaps than all but two other defensive players. One sure way to endear himself to coach Matt Eberflus is to stop the run. PFF has given him the highest run-stopping grade of all Bears defensive players in preseason.

7. DT Byron Cowart

When they signed him he seemed like merely an insurance policy in case something happened to one of the two young defensive tackles. It has, as Zacch Pickens is currently out injured. But Cowart has really played all aspects of defense from his nose spot on the line. He has the highest Bears PFF defensive grade overall and the highest grade as a pass rusher. They've let him rush the passer extensively, too, with 28 reps and he had 16 reps in run defense. Cowart has a sack, hurry, five tackles and a forced fumble.

8. CB Reddy Steward

His real first name is Reddrick and Matt Eberflus made sure in HBO's Hard Knocks that everyone knew the former Troy cornerback came to the Bears with his nickname already intact. Eberflus usually anoints players with nicknames. Steward had immediate impact in practices, then seemed to fade in the Bills game, but came back stronger against the Bengals. He's leading the team with 10 tackles and three assists mostly from in the slot.

9. LB Micah Baskerville

The pick-6 he had against the Bills was enough to get Matt Eberflus' attention, and without injured Noah Sewell around he has definitely made in-roads. But his play has gone beyond the pick and TD return. He has the highest PFF coverage grade on the team (86.6) and this for a linebacker who is only 6-foot, 224 pounds. He might have secured a roster spot already if he was a more sure tackler, as PFF has graded his tackling well down the chart and worst on the team.

10. S Tarvarius Moore

After injuries curtailed his career in San Francisco, there was no way to know what to expect as he tried to get back on track but he has had a solid preseason. He and backup safety Quindell Johnson have the same defensive grade from PFF and are tied for fifth-best overall (79.9). Moore graded out as a better tackler, though, by a hair.

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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.