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Good morning, Bears fans!
Fun fact: The Chicago Bears scored 28 points against the Packers in the second half of the epic wild card comeback win.
The San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, posted only 30 in the second half of last night’s collapse against the New York Knicks.
Think Brandon McManus and De’Aaron Fox will be comparing notes?
01 Minicamp
Day 2 in the books
Tyrique Stevenson returned to practice on Wednesday, one day after leaving with an ankle. D’Marco Jackson remained out with a shoulder and Kyler Gordon wasn’t spotted at practice either. More notes below.
02 Stadium News
Rep pitches Arlington-only plan
Republican rep Martin McLaughlin’s vision includes $1.2 billion in infrastructure for the Arlington Park site while setting a value for the property that would increase by 2.5 percent each year over the 30-year deal.
03 NFL News
Mahomes gets two more years
The QB and the Chiefs are now tied together through 2033 with the total deal landing at $504 million, the first deal to eclipse a cool half-billion. More to file away for the Caleb’s eventual deal …
9️⃣4️⃣ Days Until The Season Opener
🎂Bears Birthdays: Gary Fencik (72) Joe Cain (61)
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Minicamp Notes: Sweat hears the noise
Montez Sweat is the furthest thing from a quote machine.
He’s cooperative enough with the media, but he’s not going to expound on much. He’s a veteran who doesn’t want or need the spotlight.
That’s why it was interesting to hear Sweat asked on Wednesday about the Bears’ decision to stand pat with a defensive line room that underachieved in 2025.
Rather than shrug or deflect, Sweat hit it head on.
“We hear the chatter,” Sweat told reporters. “It is what it is. Everyone has an opinion. It’s our job to go out there and do what we got to do.”
I like the fact that Sweat acknowledged the talk is out there, just as Grady Jarrett did earlier this offseason. If the 2026 Bears are to build on what they did in 2025, it’s going to take both the defensive coaches coaching up and the players responding to that challenge.
While Sweat remains a little bit of a lightning rod in the fanbase due to his big contract, he certainly did his part last season. Sweat posted 10 sacks and 13 TFLs while appearing in all 17 games plus the postseason.
It was an effort that coach Ben Johnson called out when he met with Sweat earlier in the week.
“I would argue it was the best year of his career,” Johnson said. “Whether that showed up statistically or not, that’s debatable, but his ability to play the run, play the pass, I thought he did a really nice job, and hopefully it’s something we can piggyback on and carry that momentum into this year.”
More notes from Day 2 of Minicamp …
Caleb Williams went 10-for-10 during 7-on-7 drills with plenty of quick completions, according to Adam Jahns. He also threw a touchdown to Kalif Raymond with Devin Bush coming on a blitz.
Like Jaylon Johnson a day earlier, Coby Bryant recorded an interception during the two-minute drill.
Dillon Thieneman took first-team reps for the first time before the media, according to Sean Hammond.
Braxton Jones said he’s feeling fully healthy after slogging his way through 2025 as he recovered from a broken ankle. That could pay off big as the Bears look to solidify the left tackle position.
“Even last year I was still in a good place, but I just didn't trust (the ankle)," Jones said. "I didn't trust the positions I was putting myself in. And when you don't trust that you're never going to put a good outcome out there."
“He tends to make a play almost every single day right now that says, OK, if we can harness all of this energy and make sure that we can trust him and he’s going to align where he needs to and run the route the way we need him to, that we really could use him and he could be a big weapon for us this year.”
The rivalry is real …
Predicting where the Bears land on the NFL’s top 100 list. (Sports Illustrated)
Alyssa Barbieri on the timeline for a Darnell Wright extension. (Bears Wire)
Gabby Hajduk on Coby Bryant’s “infectious” energy. (Chicago Bears)
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