Bears 2024 training camp: Takeaways from Day 17

Training camp continues for the Chicago Bears, who held their 17th practice of the summer on Wednesday at Halas Hall.

Chicago was back on the practice field for an open, padded practice on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday’s joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals. According to the media members in attendance, it was a short practice where the offense and defense both had their moments. There were some notable faces ramping up for a return to full participation, including several starters on defense, and there were a couple of standout running back performances.

Following the 17th practice of training camp, here are some quick takeaways from Wednesday’s workout:

Solid day for offense and defense

Throughout training camp, the defense has dominated the offense in practice, which isn’t a huge surprise. But it was more an even day during Thursday’s padded practice, where it sounds like the offense and defense both had its moments without a clear-cut winner. On offense, Williams and Tyson Bagent were able to get the opposing defense to jump offsides. Williams also had some nice completions to Keenan Allen and Dante Pettis. For the defense, safety Kevin Byard forced a D’Andre Swift fumble, which was recovered by linebacker T.J. Edwards. Defensive end Montez Sweat, making his return, brought pressure on Williams and forced him out of bounds on a designed rollout, and cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson each came away with pass breakup during team drills. The defense also won the two-minute drill.

Return of key starters

Chicago’s defense has been without several key starters for the past week-plus, but there was good news are those veterans returned to practice on Thursday. Sweat, Gordon and Stevenson were back on the practice field for a padded practice. Sweat picked up right where he left off, chasing Williams out of bounds on one play. Gordon had a nice pass breakup on a Williams pass intended for Everett. Meanwhile, it sounds like Stevenson is still in a ramp up period as he only participated 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills before coming out later in practice, according to Bear Report. Still, it’s one step closer to getting the defense back to 100 percent. Next up: Jaquan Brisker, who is the lone starter on defense still sidelined. While he participated in walkthroughs, he didn’t practice. On offense, right guard Nate Davis was in pads and practiced for the second straight day. Also, Roschon Johnson, in competition for No. 2 running back reps with Khalil Herbert, also made his return to the field.

Just as the Bears were getting key starters back from injury, there was a brief scare with receiver DJ Moore early in Thursday’s practice. During the 7-on-7 period, Moore was shaken up after an incomplete contested catch with cornerback Jaylon Johnson in coverage, according to Greg Braggs. Moore was limping a bit after the play, noted Brad Biggs, and trainers were looking at his right ankle/foot. The good news is Moore later returned during the second 11-on-11 period, where he was spotted running routes, per Braggs.

D’Andre Swift, Velus Jones impressed

D’Andre Swift and Velus Jones Jr. were two of the biggest standouts from Thursday’s practice, according to 79th & Halas Podcast. While Swift did fumble the ball — forced by safety Kevin Byard and recovered by linebacker T.J. Edwards, per Zack Pearson — he was still a standout on Wednesday. In a video shared by @james_sweener, Swift broke off a 50-yard touchdown run during 11-on-11. Meanwhile, Jones continues to run with the running backs in practice as he looks to carve out a role on offense, outside of kickoff returner. Jones worked with the No. 2 offense, where he had a couple of nice runs. According to Greg Braggs, Jones had a nice run up the middle with good burst for a solid gain. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said Jones will do whatever is asked of him, and he’s been excited to see him get the ball more. “With the ball in his hands, he’s dangerous.”

Weather plan in place for joint practice with Bengals

The Bears are slated to host the Bengals for a joint practice on Thursday afternoon at Halas Hall, which is open to the public. Unfortunately, it’s not looking good for tomorrow, as the weather calls for rain and thunderstorms during the afternoon, which would force practice inside the Walter Payton Center. Since there is no room to accommodate fans, it would become a closed practice. Hightower told reporters the team has a weather plan for practice tomorrow, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. This is the lone joint practice between Chicago and Cincinnati before their preseason game on Saturday, where the Bengals already revealed starters will not play. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Bears opt to give Williams and the starters at least one series.

Attendance report

There was plenty of good news on the injury front for Thursday’s practice, as they got back some key players from injury. That included defensive starters Montez Sweat, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon, who had been sidelined the past week-plus. Nate Davis and Roschon Johnson were among the offensive players who returned to practice. But there are still some injuries worth monitoring. According to Nicholas Moreano, safety Jaquan Brisker, offensive lineman Ryan Bates, defensive end Jacob Martin, receivers Collin Johnson and DeAndre Carter and safety Adrian Colbert were at practice but not participating. Quarterback Brett Rypien also wasn’t spotted at practice, per Kevin Fishbain.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears 2024 training camp: Takeaways from Day 17