Chicago Bears Notes: Caleb, Herbert, 93 Days and Counting, More (2024)

I have a friend in town who is bringing their two children to visit Chicago for the first time. From the time I pick them up from the airport, they’ll be getting a full lesson on Caleb Williams and Bears lore. Here’s hoping they’re ready…

There was no way I wasn’t going to kick things off without sharing this from the jump:

Threading the needle 🪡 pic.twitter.com/tTuE8cCGc1
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 6, 2024

I’m digging everything about this: The motions from Caleb Williams here are short and crisp, but also fluid. There isn’t much (if any) wasted motion. And it looks like that ball is put in the perfect spot. What’s not to love? This is what it is supposed to look like this time of year. I can’t wait to see how it looks at training camp, during the preseason, and when the regular season kicks off in 93 days.

Who’s your favorite Bears No. 93: Adawale Ogunleye (2004-09), Trace Armstrong (1989-94), Sam Acho (2017-18), Justin Jones (2022-23), or someone else? I’d probably land on Ogunleye being the best player to wear the number, while Trace Armstrong’s influence still lingers in this organization. You can check out every player to wear No. 93 for the Bears via Pro Football Reference.

The last player to rock 93: Justin Jones, who turned out to be a nice free-agency signing by Bears General Manager Ryan Poles. Originally signed because things fell through with Larry Ogunjobi, falling back on Justin Jones turned out to be a solid move. Jones didn’t miss a game during his two seasons with the team, and arguably played his best ball in what turned out to be his final season in Chicago. The North Carolina State product set new career highs in sacks (4.5) and quarterback hits (17) last year and earned the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, then parlayed that success into a big-money contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

In case you’re curious: Jones and the Cards will play host to the Bears in Week 9.

While countdowns are on our mind: There are just 49 days until the first open training camp practice for Chicago’s football team. You can find details here on the Bears’ training camp schedule and how to get tickets. FYI: Tickets are free, but there figures to be a heavy demand for them this year. So if you’re unfamiliar with the Ticketmaster process, I’ll warn you now to brace yourself for chaos. And if you’d like to know more about the highs-and-lows of the Ticketmaster experience, ask your friend who’s a Taylor Swift fan. I’m sure they’ll have pleasant stories.

Even though this isn’t football-related, I knew I wanted to squeeze this NPR story looking back on “The Sopranos” somewhere in Bullets today because I found it to be a fascinating read. One of the greatest shows of our lifetime debuted 25 years ago. Time flies! OK, that’s enough of the pop culture references (for now). Back to football.

Some love for Khalil Herbert after you watch this clip:

Blessing your feed with @JuiceHerbert's speed🧃 pic.twitter.com/nXuhTMx8MP
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 6, 2024

I feel like it gets lost in the shuffle that Khalil Herbert is just one year removed from having the best yards per carry average among running backs who played enough snaps to qualify for the rushing crown. There are times when the 2022 season feels like something that happened ages ago. So much has happened for so many people since then, but it wasn’t all that long ago. A stint on injured reserve stifled Herbert’s production last year, but he finished strong —highlighted by winning the NFL Ground Player of the Week award for his Christmas Eve exploits against the Arizona Cardinals.

You can make an argument that it is a big year for anybody if you really wanted to do so. But this is truly an important year for Herbert, who enters the final year of his rookie contract. There hasn’t been a peep about an extension to keep Herbert around, which (I guess) makes sense after signing D’Andre Swift in free agency back in March. Perhaps Herbert can have a year that displays his explosiveness in a way that helps the Bears now *AND* positions himself for a big deal next offseason. That would be a win-win for all parties.

Minicamp notes from around the Bears beat include nuggets, tidbits, and information from the Tribune (Wiederer and Kane), an injury report update via the Sun-Times (Lieser), and Caleb Williams observations via The Athletic (Jahns).

I’m all about the headline accompanying this post from NBC Sports Chicago’s Alex Shapiro: “It’s time for the Bears to stop talking and start doing as they work to meet expectations.” Amen, brother.

Chicago Bears Notes: Caleb, Herbert, 93 Days and Counting, More (3)

I’m embarrassed by how much I love this quote from Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell:

“Those are the little things where we can really grow offensively and defensively,” Campbell said, via Pro Football Talk. “Like the awareness of who’s in, what’s the situation. We know what it says on paper, but we can’t do the Ron Burgundy. We can’t just continue to read off the teleprompter. And, that’s the next step, that is the next evolution, because that’s what San Francisco did to us, quite frankly. They played at a different level.”

OK, so Dan Campbell might be a meatball. But I appreciate that he doesn’t take this game too seriously — especially since way too many coaches do. Bonus points for dropping a Ron Burgundy reference. I’m always here for one of those.

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OUCH! Triple-A infielder Nick Madrigal broke his hand in his first game after being sent back to Iowa. (BN Cubs)

In a year in which the Chicago Bulls need to add young talent with upside, there seems to be no consensus on who they should take in the upcoming NBA Draft. Over at BN Bulls, Eli sorts through the madness in this NBA Mock Draft roundup.

WHOA! This is a big shakeup for Chicago Blackhawks television broadcasts:

#Blackhawks Make a Big Change in the TV Boothhttps://t.co/MU3FLHBoAp
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 6, 2024