Two Chicago Bears Rookies Involved in First Fight of Training Camp

A fight broke out at Chicago Bears training camp practice on Tuesday and it was the first we've seen thus far.

A detailed view of the Chicago Bears helmet. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears had their first fight of training camp on Tuesday and it involved rookie Jordan van den Berg.

During the team period, a fight broke out after a rep involving the third teams and it led to van den Berg slamming fellow rookie and offensive lineman Caden Barnett to the ground.

"Rookie sixth-round pick Jordan van den Berg slammed Caden Barnett onto the ground after a snap with the third-team offense," the Chicago Tribune's Sean Hammond wrote. "First time we’ve seen tempers flare."

There is no video of the scrap as of this writing. It isn't clear if any punches were thrown, either.

It also isn't clear what led to the fight between the rookies, butJosh Buckhalter of Clocker Sports noted that van den Berg had laid a big hit on a running back during the session, so that might have helped build the frustrations that led to the fight.

Fights are nothing new at training camp and happen several times throughout the course of the summer all around the NFL, so this is no big deal in the grand scheme of things as long as nobody got hurt. So far, it doesn't look like anyone has.

The positive of this fight is it shows the Bears rookies are playing with a high level of passion, which is always a good thing to see from first-year players.

A sixth-round pick of the Bears earlier this offseason, van den Berg is competing for a spot on the 53-man roster. The Georgia Tech product came out of college with a fair amount of buzz because of his elite athleticism.

Barnett was a highly-paid undrafted free-agent signing of the Bears after the 2026 NFL Draft and is trying to earn himself a spot on Chicago's 53-man roster, also. Barnett offers versatility with his experience playing at both guard and tackle at Wyoming.