Welcome to the Morning Commute. Today we’re talking about how things could be going better for LB3 in his sophomore mini-camp.
One of the greatest receivers to ever don black-and-gold, Burden had a strong rookie season in Chicago, averaging nearly 14 yards a catch on his way to two touchdowns and 652 yards receiving. With Caleb Williams on the upswing, the Bears seem to be a team on the rise, which means LB3’s star could be on the rise in tandem… if he can stay on the field.
Burden had a few injury problems in his first year, missing two games in total. But his 2026 season got off to a tough start on Sunday, when he reportedly injured his groin during one of the last plays of the day. The Bears haven’t released any official injury designation, [though NFL Network reports that Burden should miss “a little time,”](https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-news-roundup-latest-league-updates-from-sunday-aug-9) which can be good or bad depending on how you want to weight the different words in that clause.
Will this stop me from buying a Luther Burden Bears jersey at some point? Probably not. But it may slow the start of his sophomore campaign.
> My first in-person sporting event of the new season was on Saturday at Mizzou Volleyball’s Black & Gold Scrimmage. There are so many new faces on this Tiger team, I was excited to see get a glimpse of them, and fans won’t have to wait long for another, as the Tigers will welcome in the Drake Bulldogs on August 15 for an exhibition matchup.
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> On August 5, Mizzou Soccer season got started with an exhibition matchup against Lindenwood University in St. Charles. The Tigers won 3-1, scoring twice in the opening 45 minutes, which was a welcome sight given the Tigers’ problems with generating offense last season.
We veer ever closer to regular season contests!
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