Caleb Williams led the Bears 94 yards in less than a minute during a late-game simulation toward the end of Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp practice at Halas Hall.
“What we thought about [Caleb] was, when the lights are bright, that he was going to show up,” coach Ben Johnson said. “It felt like the game slowed down a little bit for him and he was able to just go out and find an open guy and get a completion. So that was good to see.”
Bears fans who have lived through supposed breakthroughs of Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky on backfields in June don’t need to be told to temper their expectations.
The Bears weren’t wearing pads and weren’t tackling. A couple plays that could have been declared sacks were allowed to continue.
Still, Johnson didn’t disagree when asked whether the rainy practice was Williams’ best of the offseason.
“It certainly felt like he had some good moments in there,” he said. “Maybe we needed just a little bit of drizzle every day and we’ll pull out the best.”
Williams wasn’t perfect. After one checkdown, Johnson pulled the quarterback aside to voice his displeasure.
“He was late,” Johnson said. “He needs to get there faster.”
The defense has been ahead of the offense in two-minute drills, Johnson said. Not Wednesday.
Dexter leading
Not long after veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett signed with the Bears in March, he was invited to a workout in Miami with his new teammates. It was organized by Gervon Dexter, the third-year player who plays the same position, and featured fellow defensive linemen Montez Sweat and Austin Booker.
“I think I’m learning to be a leader — I would say just growing up,” Dexter said Wednesday. “Going into Year 3, I’ve played a little ball, so it’s just taking that next step into doing some of those things and trying to step up and be the guy.”
Jarrett was impressed by the invite, calling it a “big gesture” that allowed him to meet Sweat and Dexter before OTAs began.
“I think that’s been good for our relationship even before we got in the building,” said Jarrett, who spent his first 10 years with the Falcons.
Sweat agreed.
“Dex is a leader on our D-line,” Sweat said. “I thought it was important because [of] just meeting your new teammates, developing that chemistry and all those types of things.”
Johnson said that Dexter “really came on” last year, when he started 15 games and totaled five sacks.
“You could feel it,” Johnson said. “With [nose tackle Andrew] Billings being out last year, you could feel him grow into a little bit more of, ‘I need to step up here.’ You could see it. You could see it on the tape. There was growth.”
Absentees
One day after the Bears reported perfect attendance for mandatory minicamp — injured or otherwise — cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safety Elijah Hicks had excused absences.
Johnson didn’t do many team drills when he was on the field Tuesday and has charity events back home in Fresno, California, this weekend.
The Bears will hold their final mandatory minicamp practice Thursday. They’ll have a voluntary OTA camp — expected to be made up mostly of rookies and other young players — next week at Halas Hall.
Training camp begins in late July, with dates expected to be released soon.
