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Bear Digest

Where the Bears Turned After Luther Burden's Injury Reveals Plenty

Jahdae Walker has improved his game and is ready in case he's needed but the Bears looked to another receiver at practice with the first team after a key injury.
Gene Chamberlain|
Jahdae Walker (9) figures prominently into Bears plans with the injury to Luther Burden III, but someone else got first dibs at practice.
Jahdae Walker (9) figures prominently into Bears plans with the injury to Luther Burden III, but someone else got first dibs at practice. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

First Colston Loveland went up in the corner of the end zone Saturday for a Caleb Williams throw and hauled in a touchdown to touch off a celebration, one that included the passer himself.

Then Jahdae Walker made a TD catch and celebrated with an end zone dance like he had performed a few times last year as an undrafted rookie.

“We just try to make practice as fun as possible," Walker said. "Caleb was talking to us. He was like, 'Every time we score, just celebrate.' So that's what we tried to do.”

A ref at the back of the end zone even flagged the Bears for excessive celebration after the Loveland TD. In a practice.

The practice ended with another celebration as Williams did the Iceman routine in two-minute drill, waiting with the ball, holding it, then spotting Rome Odunze at the back of the end zone in a crowd for a leaping 23-yard TD catch.

More celebrating.

In all honesty, it was subdued celebration because players earlier had seen a rash of recent injuries continue with one of the receivers leaving early. Luther Burden III limped across a vacant practice field and over to a cart and was taken back to Halas Hall after a collision in a simple one-on-one passing drill with Tyrique Stevenson.

The injury's nature or severity isn't yet known but where this leaves the Bears receiver corps is probably not as desperate a situation as if they lost another defensive back. That's because they did this, too, after they had already lost too many.

Stacking injuries on both sides

Safety Cam Lewis left the field after a play, then was taken by a cart to Halas Hall. They just signed safety Xavier Woods and he was in uniform but doesn't know the defense well enough yet. No doubt he'll be out there soon in the spot Lewis had been manning, which is where injured Coby Bryant is supposed to be and where Gervarrius Owens had been a backup before being injured and then waived.

The receiver depth situation is much better than the DBs because there are real numbers here, partly due to how Loveland fits their roster. They always have an extra wide receiver available by moving him into that role from tight end. He knows both positions, a big man with speed and the hands of a wide receiver.

Plus, they have Walker, as well as Kalif Raymond and rookie Zavion Thomas to go with Odunze. They wouldn't want Burden out for a long period of time because of his big-play potential, but they can handle a shorter period with the group they have catching passes.

A better Walker needs to be even better

Walker sees himself as a more viable threat than last year.

"Oh, just knowing what to do is, it makes me like play way faster," Walker said. "Year 2 has just been great to me so far.

"I feel like I was just focused on getting better, more in shape. This year I was focused on learning more of the plays, learning different positions. Me and Colston joke around all the time. He'll ask me, 'You're our Y,' and he'll give me a play and I have to tell him what route I've got. So, just little stuff like that pushed me to be better in that aspect."

The Bears immediately went not to using Walker with starters but to putting the rookie, Thomas, in along with Raymond and Odunze in a standard three-receiver personnel groupings. It says what they think about Thomas already if they're moving him in ahead of Walker, a player whose skills they trumpeted in the past.

In fact, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower kind of spelled this out before practice on Saturday. Although he was talking about Thomas' return ability. It applies to offense as well.

"I think that Zavion is a little bit more mature than most rookies that I've dealt with in the returner position," Hightower said. "It doesn't mean that he won't make rookie mistakes. It doesn't mean any of that. It just means the way he carries himself. I think it's a lot easier for him to adjust and adapt than most rookies I've had so far.

"He's been impressive, and he has tremendous speed."

The speed means everything. Walker said he understands the situation.

“Yeah, but I mean, I love Raymond, too, and Zavion," Walker said. "So, it's not really like … I mean, I want them guys to succeed as much as I want myself to succeed. We all want everybody to just do great, and it's not really like everybody’s trying to say competition, competition. It's always gonna be a competition no matter what. So we just look forward to that and just try to push each other to be better. So he's made me better. I made him better, Zavion, all of us. And if they have a question and I know it, I'm not gonna gate-keep it, or you know, I'm gonna let them know. And I ain't gonna (be greedy) … we just help each other out.”

Walker hasn't become too antsy being behind a better group of receivers.

"It's kind of easy to stay patient," he said. "I kind of did it my whole life. I went to A&M, it was a loaded receivers room. Came here, loaded receivers room. So I've been patient my whole life and just being ready when my number's called. That's really the biggest thing I'm looking forward to."

Walker is learning from Raymond like some of the other receivers are. He's learning to take pre-practice and post-practice routine more seriously and catches an estimated 150 extra passes from the JUGS machine before practice even begins and after it ends.

When he was told Raymond is doing 205, then he said he'll have to up his own totals.

Wishful thinking

Walker wanted to make everyone feel good about Burden's health with something positive regarding the injury.

"He's a dawg, so he's gonna be back sooner," Walker said.

But Odunze had said the same about Bryant's injury immediately afterward and then it turned out to be wishful thinking as he's out a reported 8-10 weeks.

For now the best news the Bears can have is they have a receiver like Walker, as well as a rookie as highly thought of as Thomas and a veteran like Raymond to fill in with reps until Burden can return.

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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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