Good morning, Bears fans!
Well, it should be a pretty interesting weekend. Not only do Illinois lawmakers need to pass a $56 billion budget by midnight Sunday, they need to figure out what’s going on with the Bears stadium plans in Arlington Heights.
Actually, there’s only one thing they need to do, at least according to the state constitution. Think Kevin Warren is sweating at all right now?
— Kevin Kaduk
Summer is here and training camp isn’t far off. You need some fresh t-shirts and hats to wear around the practice fields … and also by the grill, on the boat or at the park.
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In fact, I love them so much that I’m sending one to a Bears By 7 member this week as a way to say thanks for supporting the newsletter.
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01 OTAs
Ben Johnson is high on Luther Burden
More on this below, but the Bears coach didn’t hold back his praise for the second-year wide receiver during his first press availability of OTAs.
02 OTAs
Jaylon Johnson is at Halas
The veteran corner has traditionally stayed away from the voluntary sessions, but is on the field as a pivotal year awaits. Ben said he appreciated Johnson showing up to work with his new teammates, Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman among them.
03 OTAs
These players were not seen
According to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, these players were not spotted on the practice field: Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, T.J. Edwards, Shemar Turner, Malik Muhammad and Keyshaun Elliott.
1️⃣0️⃣7️⃣ Days Until The Season Opener
“I know that I owe Chicago a better year and I'm excited to go do that."
Ben Johnson 😍 Luther Burden
I knew the Luther Burden hype train would leave the station at some point this offseason.
I just didn’t know that Ben Johnson would be the one driving it in May.
The Chicago Bears coach made plenty of instant headlines on Thursday when asked about Burden as he heads into his second NFL season.
“I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now,” Johnson said to reporters at Halas Hall. “Just how he’s approached his offseason. It’s been electric.”
Burden is coming off a rookie season with 47 catches for 652 yards and two touchdowns. While those numbers are impressive on their own, it was Burden passing both the eye and analytical test, particularly late in the season, that instilled a lot of hope for the future.
Here are some numbers from Warren Sharp (via Nicholas Moreano) to get really excited about:
Burden’s opportunity in Johnson’s offense is set to increase with DJ Moore’s departure to Buffalo and it’s not one the receiver is taking lightly. He spent much of the offseason working at Halas Hall and Johnson called him “extremely coachable” during Thursday’s comments.
It’s hard to imagine the past year playing out any better for the faith that Johnson and the Bears showed in Burden when taking him as the sixth receiver in the 2025 draft.
Originally projected as perhaps the top receiver in that crop, Burden’s stock slid due to a drop in production at Mizzou and some concerns about his work ethic, which sure look unfounded at this point.
Burden’s training camp started a little rocky as well with a hamstring injury, though highlights later in the session showed the coaching staff and fans exactly what the receiver was capable of.
Now, as Burden and the Bears prepare for 2026, Johnson said it looks like the game is slowing down for Burden while he starts playing at a different speed.
"He ran a route yesterday that was the first time he had ran that route,” Johnson said. “He ran it as well as I've been around. So, things like that really get you excited as a coach."
We all know that Johnson isn’t one for unearned praise and it’s a little fascinating to watch him mete it out like this. It’s almost as if he’s loading Burden up with even more motivation because he knows he’ll respond to it.
Plus, any good leader should make his high performers feel seen. After an offseason in which Burden has bought all the way in, Johnson is letting everyone know he’s also invested in a big, big way.
So what happens now?
There’s no question that the bar has definitely been raised. Johnson’s comments didn’t just echo around Chicagoland. They found Adam Schefter’s Twitter account, a post on Pro Football Talk and plenty of chatter elsewhere that’s sure to raise Burden’s average draft position across fantasy boards everywhere.
I don’t think Johnson would have created those expectations if he wasn’t convinced Burden could meet them. That’s an exciting realization as a Bears fan.
The Bears aren’t on this list of the top 8 candidates to dethrone the Seahawks as Super Bowl champs. (NFL.com)
Time is running out in Springfield. (Sun-Times)
You can buy DJ Moore’s old home for $1.9 million (Tribune)
Six takeaways from Day 2 of Bears OTAs (Bears Wire)
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