Veteran Chicago Bears receiver still hasn't earned Ben Johnson's trust

When the Chicago Bears drafted receiver Tyler Scott two years ago, they thought they were getting a true weapon for the offense. Unfortunately, Scott has been nearly a complete non-factor. He caught 17 passes as a rookie for only 168 yards and zero touchdowns. Year 2 was even worse as Scott spent most weeks on the inactive list, leading to just one pass thrown his way the entire year.

His roster spot was already in danger heading into 2025, but head coach Ben Johnson's comments over this weekend highlighted just how precarious his situation is. When speaking to the media on Sunday, Johnson named the receivers who have managed to gain his trust so far in training camp: Cole Kmet, D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Olamide Zaccheaus, in that order.

Interestingly enough, Johnson did not name Colstand Loveland or Luther Burden III, Chicago's two highest drafted rookies this year, despite both showing dominant upside at training camp. This is likely due to their status as rookies, however. It's fair from a coach's standpoint to want to see them play in an actual NFL game before Johnson can say they've earned his trust.

The veterans don't have the luxury of that excuse, especially not guys with three or more years of NFL experience. This poses a big problem for Scott because the Bears seem to be running out of roster spots for receivers already.

Moore and Odunze are the top two receivers on this team. That's never been in doubt. The third and fourth sports likely go to Burden and Zaccheaus. Both have been outstanding in training camp thus far and have an equally good case to be the third and final starting receiver. Then there's the undrafted rookie J.P. Richardson, who has been a training camp surprise. He still needs to prove himself over the course of this month, but he seems like a safe bet to be Chicago's fifth receiver.

This means there is potentially just one spot up for grabs for the remaining seven receivers, and Scott has done nothing to stand out from that crowd in a good way. Players wash out all the time in the NFL, but seeing Scott get released after just two seasons with the Bears would be disappointing for a fan base that saw such tantalizing, big-play potential when he was drafted.

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