(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
LAKE FOREST, Ill., — As the Chicago Bears wrap up offseason work this week at Halas Hall, two key members of their 2025 NFL draft class have not been on the field.
Chicago knew that tight end Colston Loveland wouldn't be ready to go this offseason after dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to have surgery. The No. 10 overall pick has missed the entire offseason program but has been in the building and watching practices, getting mental reps in. However, it's their first second-round pick that is the surprising case.
Wide receiver Luther Burden has been dealing with a soft tissue injury he suffered on the second rookie minicamp practice and has yet to practice since then. Johnson did provide some potential good news, saying he expects Burden to be ready to go for training camp in late July.
"He will, yeah," Johnson said when asked if Burden will be ready to go for training camp.
Rookies are usually behind when they enter the NFL but missing time in these key practices only sets them back further. We saw that last year with rookie tackle Kiran Amegadjie who missed the entire offseason and then was thrown into the fire right away. A full offseason would have helped him a lot.
Johnson mentioned Burden missing some things while he's not on the field.
"He misses a lot," Johnson said. "Any time you're not out there, if you're in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you're losing valuable time; valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we're talking about. It's not just the coaching staff having trust in you, doing the right thing over and over, but it's also your teammates. They have to be out there. They have to see you do it."
Burden was drafted to add another piece to the Bears offense, joining a wide receiver room that features Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay and Tyler Scott already. There's a competition for the third and fourth receiver spots with key reps on the line, so Burden getting out there and developing that chemistry with Caleb Williams will be important.
For Loveland, the plan right now is for him to be out there when training camp starts, barring any setbacks. The focus so far has been with the playbook, learning that as much as he can to prepare for the tough Summer practices.
"It's definitely the playbook. Obviously, have to take care of everything physically, but mentally, it's a lot, all you guys know that. Just really diving into that playbook," Loveland ssaid. "It's one thing to know it, and then to go out there and do it in real time. It's just the walk-thru reps, the mental reps, like I've said, those are huge and crucial. My teammates around me are doing a great job. Any questions, they're very coachable, and it goes both ways. It's been great."
I wouldn't panic just yet on either of the two players but if the missed practices start to stack up in July and into August, it won't be a good thing.
Not a VIP subscriber to the Bear Report? Sign up now to get access to everything publisher Zack Pearson and the entire Bear Report team have to offer on all things Chicago Bears and access to the No. 1 site covering the team!