Ben Johnson on injury updates, Williams learning the offense

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - 1 day ago

CHICAGO - It may only be June, but it seems like head coach Ben Johnson is pushing quarterback Caleb Williams the way Williams should have been pushed as a rookie.

Johnson said Williams is committed to learning and has been trying various things during minicamp to see what comes more naturally to Williams.

“I think he’s committed to learning the offense. We’re not where we need to be yet as a team and he understands that and any chance he gets to get a few more full speed reps, it sounds like he wants them,” Johnson said. “We’ve loaded him up. We’ve tried a number of different things. Long plays calls, multiple plays at the line. We’ve dabbled here in tempo. We’ve dabbled here, there and everywhere really throughout the springtime and some (of it) comes a little bit more natural than others for him. But, I do think we’ve seen him get better in really all facets and so, we’ll have to sit down as a staff before we leave and when we come back just to make sure we’re honed in on what direction we want to go altogether. But, I feel pretty confident (in) the things that he’s put on tape that we can go ahead and get after a little bit.”

Unlike last year, Williams actually has support this year. The offensive line should be much improved from his rookie season when he was sacked a league-leading 68 times. In the draft, the Bears also got Williams some new weapons including tight end Colston Loveland who Chicago used their only first round selection on. Unfortunately, Loveland is still recovering from a joint dislocation in his right shoulder that required surgery near the end of January.

While it is clear Loveland has learned a lot, it is unclear whether he will be ready for the start of training camp in July.

“I think what I can gather from the walkthroughs, from the meetings, is he’s very professional. He takes everything seriously. I think he’s going to fit in really well once we start getting him to go full speed. I know (tight ends coach) Coach (Jim) Dray’s said to me numerous times how impressed he is for the types of questions he’s asking at his young age,” Johnson said. “I don’t know (if Loveland will be ready for the start of training camp). We will get that before we officially break for summer. Just the expectation for camp and who’s going to be full-go for day one and who we’re still limited in working in. So, I don’t have that answer for you at this moment.”

Luckily for Chicago, it seems their other injured rookie, wide receiver Luther Burden III, will be ready for the start of training camp. However, he missed most of the rookie minicamp and all of the mandatory minicamp after sustaining a soft tissue injury during the rookie minicamp.

Johnson explained that missing that time is crucial for anyone, especially a rookie like Burden III. Nonetheless, it should help Burden III that he will be ready by the time of training camp.

“Anytime 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,” Johnson said. “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 got to be out there. They got to see you do it. They got to know that the guy right (or) left of them, that they’re going to do the right things and they’re going to make the plays when called upon … For a young player, it’s really where you get the most reps and you can get better in a hurry that way.”