Inside The Vikings

Bears rookie WR gives Vikings some Week 1 bulletin board material

Luther Burden III isn't lacking confidence when it comes to Chicago's first game of the season.
Will Ragatz|
May 9, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III warms up during the Rookie Minicamp at Halas Hall.
May 9, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III warms up during the Rookie Minicamp at Halas Hall. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

A recent quote from Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III feels like one that has a chance to make its way to the Vikings' locker room for motivational purposes ahead of the regular season opener in September.

In a new video on his YouTube channel, Burden was playing video games with fellow Bears rookie Colston Loveland when he was asked how he feels about Chicago's Week 1 matchup with the Vikings on Monday Night Football.

"Belt," he said. "Belt with spikes. The LV belt, the leather kind. That's how I'm feeling."

For anyone confused, the phrase "belt to a**" means metaphorically whooping an opponent by beating them badly on the field. Burden was expressing confidence that the Bears are going to take it to the Vikings in their Week 1 matchup.

There's nothing wrong with a 21-year-old rookie believing in his new team, but there's also a lot of time before the game happens — which means that clip may or may not get played in a Minnesota meeting room once or twice before September 8.

Burden was the 39th overall pick out of Missouri in this year's draft. A dynamic athlete who had a huge sophomore season in 2023, he has a chance to be a major weapon for Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams moving forward. However, he missed the Bears' offseason program with a soft-tissue injury and wasn't present at the team's first training camp pratice on Wednesday.

There's going to be no shortage of buzz and excitement and storylines for the Vikings-Bears showdown on Monday night in just under seven weeks. It'll be J.J. McCarthy's first start and Johnson's first game as a head coach. Despite very different 2024 seasons (14 wins for Minnesota versus 5 for Chicago), both teams are going to come into this season with high hopes, and this will be the first opportunity to evaluate where they're at. It's a key divisional matchup in primetime right out of the gates.

Bring on all the trash talk.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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