The Chicago Bears are back — and so is the weekly Bears mailbag.

With one week of training camp in the books, fans have plenty of questions — from the reconstructed offensive line to cornerback Nahson Wright’s emergence to rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III’s return from a hamstring injury — and the Tribune’s Brad Biggs has answers.

Who do you think wins the left tackle competition? I think it’s gonna be Ozzy Trapilo since he’s gotten the most time with No. 1 offense but I don’t know. — @f00tballman34

This was the most popular question by an overwhelming majority this week, and my initial reaction is it’s premature to say after only two practices in full pads. I would dispute the notion Trapilo, a second-round pick from Boston College, has gotten the most run with the starting unit. It has been pretty even as the coaches closely monitor reps for Trapilo, incumbent Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie.

In a perfect world, Jones gains confidence in his health as he works his way back from ankle surgery and locks down the starting job. In that scenario, Trapilo could enter the season as the swing tackle and continue to develop with a shot at earning playing time as the season unfolds. Jones looked better at the start of camp than perhaps the team expected and his rehabilitation went really well. He was super committed to being in the mix on time and accomplished that goal. Now it’s about proving he has confidence in his health and the strength to perform.

Trapilo has looked pretty good moving in space for such a big guy at 6-foot-8, 312 pounds. You can see why the team believes he has a bright future. When he’s able to lower his hips, he looks really good. When he can’t, that slows his feet and he doesn’t move as well. There’s some question if you can take a college right tackle and turn him into an above-average NFL left tackle. That’s fair to wonder, but the frame is fantastic and Trapilo also seems pretty diligent, which obviously will be required.

Coach Ben Johnson has hinted at wanting to have a good feeling for his starting five sooner rather than later. Is that mandatory? No. Helpful? Definitely. Keep an eye on how things are setting up when the Miami Dolphins roll into town for a joint practice Aug. 8. Is the rotation still even? Is one guy getting the bulk of the work with the ones?

I think the job ultimately will boil down to Jones or Trapilo, but right now it’s too early to say.

“It takes time for the five guys to jell,” Johnson said. “That’s been my experience. So the sooner we can identify who those five guys are going to be, the quicker we’ll be at our top strength. But we’ve got to identify who those five guys are first.”

Maybe this is obvious but with the small amount of padded practices you’ve seen, is there a notable difference in the trenches (especially OL) from last year? — @dabearcave1920

The biggest difference is personnel. You watch Joe Thuney work in one-on-one pass-rush drills and in combination blocking, and it’s easy to get a quick appreciation for why he was such a high-level player for the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. New center Drew Dalman is probably in the top five or six in the league at his position — easily in the top quarter at least. It all starts with personnel.

We have to see how it comes together and it’s going to take time. I’m guessing offensive line coach Dan Roushar would say there’s a lot of work to be done. Protection hasn’t been fantastic through the early portion of camp, and Ben Johnson made note of that Tuesday, saying the defense has been throwing the kitchen sink at the offense.

Photos: An inside look at Chicago Bears training camp

“We’re having a difficult time in protection right now,” Johnson said. “That’s probably what stands out to me from the first five practices. We need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket. We’re having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.”

I know everyone wants grand proclamations, but it’s early. Let’s see how this grows with clearly improved personnel.

Has the pre-snap penalties/discipline looked any different from a Matt Eberflus-led team? — @nbvike61

The offense has had issues getting to the line of scrimmage quickly and adjusting with a lot more pre-snap motion. The players still are learning the offense. I’d expect it to be better, but again — and this isn’t a cop-out answer — let’s give this time. It should be better by this time next week, and by Week 1 things should be ironed out.

Did Al Harris pound the table for Nahshon Wright? I thought the Bears were pretty stacked at corner (you can never have enough, of course) after they drafted another this year, but Wright seems to be playing ahead of most of them. What was his Dallas career like? — @illinoisjonez

I doubt Harris, who previously was the Cowboys secondary coach, had to lobby too hard for Wright. It’s natural for new coaching staffs to have input on roster moves during the offseason, and Harris surely could have told the front office and the other coaches what his experience with Wright was like during three seasons in Dallas.

Wright has a one-year, $1.1 million contract with no guaranteed money, so it’s not like there were deep discussions. He has good size and traits that match what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen likes. Wright has made the most of his opportunities to this point and looks to be in the mix for a job. He made three starts for the Cowboys and never played more than 128 snaps in a season, so it’s not like he had a ton of tape. We’ll see how the rest of camp and preseason go for him.

Ryan Bates didn’t seemingly get on the field during the offseason. How’s he looking thus far? Despite Doug Kramer and Luke Newman getting snaps as backup center, is he likely still the guy there due to his flexibility? Any chance he’s cut due to his cap number? — @gregfeltes

Bears guard Jonah Jackson (73) and center Ryan Bates (71) practice during training camp Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Lake Forest. (AP Photo/David Banks)

I didn’t see Bates in the offseason but he was recovering from a minor elbow procedure. The good news is he has been on the field every day during training camp and has both experience and flexibility on the interior of the line. Kramer rebounded after missing one practice with a knee issue and has gotten most of the work as the second center. Some believe Newman can develop into a pretty good player, most likely as a center.

The Bears have depth and more talent on the offensive line. As they eye potentially keeping 10 on the 53-man roster, they’re going to have quality competition. The hope is they don’t have to test the depth quite as much as they have in recent years, when injuries created a series of musical chairs up front.

Bates went through a lot physically last season, but if he’s healthy now and can remain healthy, he could have a chance to fit in as a backup on the interior. See No. 7 in this edition of 10 thoughts from last season for details on how he traveled to Panama — on his own dime — for stem cell therapy to improve his shoulder condition last year.

Why Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Devin Hester was back at Halas Hall: ‘It gets competitive’

Most pre-camp predictions had the Bears keeping the same six cornerbacks but does Nahshon Wright have a legitimate chance to make the team? If so, who is the odd man out? — @jtbarczak

I’m not familiar with any pre-camp predictions for the 53-man roster. Seems a little premature to start playing who’s in and who’s out before training camp begins. I can say the Bears have kept six cornerbacks on the initial roster each of the last three years under general manager Ryan Poles.

They have some really good competition brewing right now, and Jaylon Johnson (leg) being sidelined has created more reps for other players. Wright certainly is maximizing his opportunities to this point, and he was getting time with the first unit in the spring as well. Nick McCloud got bumped up Tuesday morning at practice, and with rookie fifth-round pick Zah Frazier still out for personal reasons, real competition is happening.

If I were picking a roster right now, Wright would be in. But it’s really early and we have to see what shakes out in preseason games. Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Josh Blackwell, Terell Smith, Wright, McCloud and even Shaun Wade give the Bears a deep pool. That’s without even considering Frazier at this point. It’s a good problem to have as there’s no such thing as having too many cornerbacks.

With the first preseason game less than two weeks away, has Ben Johnson given any indication about the starters playing or will the joint practices handle that? — @jpoch1983

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Believe it or not, Johnson was asked in his news conference the day before camp opened about playing time for starters in the preseason, and he gave the answer anyone would have expected: He didn’t say much. He has dropped enough hints to make it clear he will put a major emphasis on joint practices with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. That means I wouldn’t expect a ton of playing time for starters in preseason games.

Of course, that’s all subject to change based on what Johnson believes is needed and best in the moment. Coaches like the joint practices because they can control the situation. Let’s say they want to work on third-and-long. The starting unit could be on the field for four series in a preseason game and encounter only one third-and-10. Or maybe the coaches want to work on the screen game in a certain situation. In joint practices they can dial up every scenario they want to see. They can’t control everything in a preseason game.

Coaches are unlikely to tell players until the day before a preseason game what they can generally expect in regard to playing time. So they’re almost never going to tell reporters the plan in advance, and they’re sure as heck not going to show their hand weeks in advance.

How come Caleb Williams struggles with downfield passing? Will that change this year? — @tn5280

The struggles come down to deep-ball accuracy, and it was an issue last season over and over. It’s a combination of a lot of things. Accuracy in general. Timing with wide receivers. Pass protection. Timing was a consistent issue. Williams seemed to have a propensity to overthrow his receivers. Maybe that was because he was trying to avoid the negative outcome of an interception.

I did see a really well-placed bomb to DJ Moore in practice Monday morning during one-on-one drills with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in tight coverage. It was a perfect throw way downfield. The thing is, connections like that seem to be few and far between at this point.

Does Chicago sign Za’Darius Smith or Jadeveon Clowney before preseason? — @windycitybearss

The Bears would really like to see a draft pick — Austin Booker or even Dominique Robinson, whom Ben Johnson praised coming out of spring workouts — emerge as the third defensive end in the rotation. I’d be surprised if they signed a name player such as Smith or Clowney. I highly doubt either one would play for cheap, and the Bears are already ninth in the league in spending on edge rushers this season, according to Over the Cap. Add Smith or Clowney and the Bears almost surely would be in the top five.

What everyone is overlooking is the Bears believe Dayo Odeyingbo is entering his prime and should be on the field a lot. This topic has gotten way more discussion than is warranted this offseason. The Bears will be a lot more creative getting after the quarterback with new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, and they also should be better pushing the pocket and penetrating on the interior with players such as Grady Jarrett.

Is it time to start worrying that Luther Burden might turn out to be another version of Kevin White? Is he injury-prone? — George T.

Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (87) stretches out during training camp Monday, July 28, 2025, in Lake Forest. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Based on Burden’s three-year career at Missouri, he’s not injury-prone. He played in 38 of the Tigers’ 39 games. He is behind and that’s probably due more to missing a lot of time during the spring than it is the first four practices of training camp as he continued to recover from a hamstring injury.

“It shows up already,” Ben Johnson said Tuesday morning before practice. “I mean, we were in the walk-through (Monday) afternoon and the misalignments — we have to re-huddle, we have to start it all over again. He’s a little bit behind right now.”

Burden seemed to be out of place before the snap once or twice in Tuesday’s practice as well, so he has stuff to clean up in order to prove he’s catching up. There’s no substitute for work on the field.

What does a seven-on-seven drill accomplish that 11-on-11 doesn’t? — @hickeymj

That’s a good question. You probably can tick off quite a few things here. A seven-on-seven drill is more static and the quarterback has more patient reads with a clean throwing platform on every snap. The offense should excel in seven-on-seven because there is no pass rush and receivers often can simply run away from coverage to create throwing lanes. In an 11-on-11 period, there are bodies in front of the quarterback, the platform changes and the reads have to be faster because everything is accelerated with a pass rush. Coverage is also tighter.

In the old days, sometimes you would see seven-on-seven on one practice field while an inside run drill (nine-on-seven) was being run concurrently on an adjacent field. In those instances, a team can work the box players with the inside run drill and have the perimeter players also getting work during seven-on-seven. When that happened, the team would shuttle some players back and forth between drills so running backs, tight ends, linebackers and safeties could get work done in both.

Other times you will see one-on-one pass-rush drills done during seven-on-seven. So there is valuable and important work that bigger players can do during seven-on-seven. I’d also point out that in a seven-on-seven period, more plays can be run than during a full team drill. If there is 10 minutes on the clock, an offense can run more plays in seven-on-seven because it can get to the play and get everyone lined up quicker. But in general, seven-on-seven lacks the adversity and violence of real football.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/30/chicago-bears-mailbag-left-tackle/