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Bear Digest

Chicago Bears Insider: Everything I Saw from Camp Including RB Shortage

A look at the less emphasized narratives of the week in Bears camp, and what could be coming down the pike in Week 2.
Gene Chamberlain|
With Kyle Monangai out injured, this could be a big week in training camp for Roschon Johnson (23).
With Kyle Monangai out injured, this could be a big week in training camp for Roschon Johnson (23). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect


The bottom of the reporter's notebook and the bottom of the Bears roster can be as interesting as the bigger news and narratives.

Even if unaddressed by coaches at this time in training camp, some things become more evident after they surface in the first non-contact work. Sometimes smaller issues spin off of bigger issues.

There are small details that eventually could become bigger problems and vice versa.

Here are some notes from the past week in camp, sitting at the bottom of the page and waiting to explode.

1. Running back surprise

The running back most likely to surprise in preseason games has to be Salvon Ahmed. At 5-foot-11, 196 pounds, he's not going to bowl people over. He does have very quick feet and they stand out in footwork drills at camp.

When he had a few carries or caught short passes, he got out into the open field quickly and was especially adept cutting back at the start of runs in the backfield.

He'll stand out in preseason simply because of the greater use he'll get. They're not going to throw D'Andre Swift out there and, especially because of his injury, Kyle Monangai is unlikely to play much.

Ahmed can be used well in the passing game. Miami did it with him at times, as he had 40 catches for 274 yards in four seasons. His 3.6 yards per carry for 163 runs isn't backing up his skillset much but he does have good footspeed.

The former Miami back is coming back from a bad training camp ankle injury suffered with the Colts last year on a hip-drop tackle. It was a broken bone and cost him the 2025 season after he had been on the Broncos practice squad all of 2024.

2. Forgotten man on defense

Maybe the player talked about the least on defense has been cornerback Terell Smith a way, this is good because he hasn't been burned repeatedly in practice. Smith has been playing backup cornerback in the spot behind Jaylon Johnson on the defense's left side.

Much reporting focus has centered around rookie Malik Muhammad, Jaylon Johnson or Tyrique Stevenson, or on the slot battle between Jaylon Jones and Cam Lewis to replace injured Kyler Gordon. Look for Lewis to win that one eventually because Jones is new to that spot on the field and looks a bit overmatched.

However, Smith has quietly plugged away with the second defense a year after his season ended in camp with an ACL tear.

As scrimmages play out with more reps, and preseason begins, it will be interesting to see if he can rise to challenge for more playing time and how he handles more challenges because he has yet to be severely tested.

3. Building center depth

Sixth-round guard Luke Newman was projected by some after the 2025 draft as a potential center even though he hadn't played there at Michigan State. Last year the Bears talked about using him as a guard-center backup but he really only had a few practice reps at center.

In camp, the Bears have used him as a third center at times in the first four practices, when he's not lining up at backup guard. He also took a few reps with starters in one team session when they held out a few vets just to give them a rest. However, he didn't get center reps with starters or the second team. It was with the third team.

They also have Jaren Kump, a former Utah center, and can use Kyle Hergel there. However, he is really more of a guard.

Getting Newman reps at center is big because a player needs to be able to slide over to another spot with maybe only eight offensive linemen active on game day. Second-round pick Logan Jones is not going to be getting guard reps, at least for now. So they need to make sure Newman can handle this.

One strength of this Bears offensive line is depth and experience.

“I didn't even realize this, but the other day (O-line) coach (Dan) Roushar told me we've got 11 guys out of the 16 in there right now that have played snaps in regular season games, which is crazy to think about," Ben Johnson said. "We have a lot of experience even though we do have some youth in there and it's going to be a heck of a competition."

The experience is definitely not at center behind Garrett Bradbury, though. It's all at tackle and guard. Newman is among the 11 players Johnson mentioned but it was at guard.

4. Testing Ruben Hyppolite II

The disappointment of last year's draft might have been linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II. His reported great speed never became apparent and he appeared in only seven games.

The Bears wasted no time testing him out this training camp. In their first practice on Wednesday, they ran a short pass to the side to Luther Burden and it was Hyppolite's responsibility to get over and provide the coverage. Hyppolite did a solid job of getting hands on Burden at the sideline for what would have been a stop in a game. This was non-contact scrimmage, though.

Then they ran another short pass on the opposite side and challenged Hyppolite's ability to get over there. The result wasn't as good, but then again he barely had a chance to catch his breath before the snap. Hyppolite needs to step up with so many player vying for the fourth, fifth and possibly sixth linebacker spots.

Their fourth-round pick from 2025 is going to be severely challenged to make the roster, particularly once T.J. Edwards gets back from his calf strain, suffered doing offseason training. The reps could all be third team for Hyppolite at that point.

5. Roschon Johnson's big week

This will be a huge week for the former Texas back. He is going to get second-team and first-team reps. Johnson has been largely invisible since Ben Johnson arrived, with the exception of special teams. Now in his contract year, he needs to show he belongs. There are always backs out there available after final roster cutdowns and anyone not cementing a position when they have the chance could be in trouble.

With Kyle Monangai injured, the Bears need a physical presence and Johnson can definitely bring this. He's their biggest running back at 227 pounds. No one else is close. Monangai is second biggest at 207 pounds. Brittain Brown is just 205. The other backups don't reach 200.

Johnson's role with the team can be greatly enhanced with a good week, while the running game itself will be in question until Monangai returns.

6. What Ryan Poles has waited to see

Defensive linemen going one-on-one with offensive linemen wearing pads and how the edges handle tackles is something GM Ryan Poles needs to see before deciding whether to pursue another edge rusher.

The Bears have $8.1 million remaining under the salary cap, according to Overthecap.com.

However, there's another side to it. That would be the left tackle battle. They've given the candidates time with starters and the way they handle pass blocking in pads could also decide something.

Former Lions starting left tackle Taylor Decker is still available. It's easy to wonder if Poles and Johnson might pursue Decker if they decided they didn't like the way any of their left tackle options shaped up.

It might seem unlikely they could look at Braxton Jones, Jedrick Wills II, Kiran Amegadjie and possibly Theo Benedet as replacements for injured Ozzy Trapilo and decide they must go outside the roster. It could happen, though.

Last year they had all offseason to look at Jones, Trapilo and Benedet in a battle, then ultimately picked Jones. He struggled and they went to Benedet and then Trapilo.

Last year the competition wasn't expected as Jones was a returning starter coming off injury, but he struggled physically. They have started so early with this competition and it's possible they could arrive at a conclusion earlier. Johnson suggested by the week of the Cleveland preseason opener something might be known.

Maybe what will be known is none of the options excite Johnson and he could turn to a familiar face.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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