Bears training camp update: Luther Burden III making most of early opportunities

It’s hard not to notice Luther Burden III on the field. The Bears’ rookie wide receiver is usually easy to spot from any distance with the bright colored shoes that he wears compared to everyone else’s mostly neutral colors.

But over the past couple of days, it’s been hard not to notice Burden on the field for another reason: his play. Burden’s jersey No. 87 has popped out more over the past two days as he’s proven that he can be a threat in head coach Ben Johnson’s offense despite a delayed start to his career.

“I feel like today was a great day, a great day to play football, a great day to get better, compete, all that type of stuff,” Burden told reporters Thursday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “It just felt good to be back out there with the guys, creating that bond with the coaches, teammates, everybody. It felt good.”

It’s been a long time coming for one of the Bears’ second-round draft selections in April’s draft. Burden missed most of the spring practices and the first few days of training camp with what he said was a hamstring injury. He returned to practice for the first time Monday and has become more involved in activities as the week progressed.

Although he was away from the field from the beginning of May, Burden was part of meetings and learned the playbook along with his teammates. Now that he’s back on the field, he gets out onto the field early before practice to make up for lost time.

The transition to the NFL wasn’t entirely smooth for Burden once he did get back. He said the speed in the league is quicker, especially going from hearing the play call in the huddle to executing it at a high level. Johnson threw Burden out of a play during the first couple of days of his return because he wasn’t lined up properly.

Burden said he liked the tough approach from Johnson and knows what the standard is for the new coaching staff.

“I feel like he’s very intense all the way around,” Burden said. “He’s trying to create a championship team here, and we’ve got to do stuff a certain way here to execute at a high level.”

The reasons why Bears general manager Ryan Poles drafted Burden have become more apparent the more he’s participated in camp.

Burden has made the most of his early snaps with quarterback Caleb Williams and the first team by creating separation from defenders with his speed. Williams and the other quarterbacks have looked to Burden through their progressions on plays and usually connected with him for a big gain.

“It’s only been two days of some team drills, and the play speed stood out to me [Wednesday],” Johnson said. “I was really impressed by that. Still working on the alignment and details as you’d expect for a young player. But the play speed stood out to me.”

Fans will likely see more of that speed as camp progresses and the preseason games start in August. With opposing teams likely forced to focus on Bears’ wide receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore, Burden will likely get plenty of chances to get lost in the shuffle and beat man-to-man coverages like he has at times during camp.

If he does, he’ll likely get plenty of chances to be noticed more in Johnson’s offense.

“I feel like I can do everything in his offense,” Burden said. “I’m just really trying to get my feet wet, get situated on the field and learn by playbook really. I feel like everything else will take care of itself.”

Practice notes

The Bears put the pads back on Thursday in their longest and most competitive practice of camp so far. Players will have the day off Friday before returning to practice Saturday.

The offense had its best showing of camp Thursday. Williams completed a perfectly placed deep ball to Burden during one of the 11-on-11 sessions just before he reached the sideline. Burden caught another long pass from Tyson Bagent a couple of plays later.

Johnson also worked on some situational drills where Williams showed some improvements. Williams had his best throw of camp when he completed an impressive deep throw off a scramble to Olamide Zaccheaus during one of the drills. He also completed four of five passes during third-down drills, gaining a first down three times.

It wasn’t all perfect, however. Williams and the offense failed to score when it reached the red zone, with Williams being called for intentional grounding on third down.

They also didn’t end practice on the right note. The Bears faced a three-point deficit with 1:41 left in the game and the ball on their 35-yard line. Williams picked up a first down after a couple of throws to Moore and Zaccheaus before a sack and an incompletion.

Williams found Moore for a pass to set up fourth-and-1, but he faced pressure and floated up a ball that was intercepted by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.

The second team drove down the field with quarterback Tyson Bagent. Tight end Joel Wilson caught a wide-open touchdown.

Injury update

The Bears didn’t get much good news in terms of injuries Thursday.

Offensive linemen Jonah Jackson (leg) and Ricky Stromberg missed practice for a second straight day, while Bill Murray missed his third consecutive day. Rookie cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) still hasn’t practiced during training camp, and rookie defensive tackle Sheman Turner (ankle) continued to be out after being injured during the first practice.

Long snapper Scott Daly was carted out of the practice Thursday.

Johnson also provided an update about one of his starting cornerbacks. Jaylon Johnson has missed all of camp with a leg injury he suffered during the offseason and was originally set to miss a few weeks.

“I think there’s a scenario where he’ll be ready for Week 1,” Ben Johnson said. “That’s really the target date. I know he’s working hard and diligently to get there for that. With those types of injuries that he’s got, you just never know. You never know. So it’s still early in that process, but I know he’s attacking that rehab really well.”