The Ben Johnson era is in the next phase as training camp is officially open for the Chicago Bears. Veterans joined rookies in the building on July 22nd with the first practice taking place on July 23rd.
This is where players start separating themselves from others on the depth chart, but one Bears rookie is behind the eight ball and is still on the sideline. According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, WR Luther Burden III was not present at practice.
Bears practice No. 1 just ended. Went from 8:45-10 a.m.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 23, 2025
-Rookies Luther Burden III and Zah Frazier were not present. Burden appears to still be dealing with injuries from the spring (landed on a ball awkwardly in minicamp, sustained a soft tissue (hamstring) injury in OTAs)…
Bears Rookie WR Luther Burden III Didn’t Participate in 1st Training Camp Practice
Burden III has already dealt with multiple injuries this offseason. During minicamp, he landed on a football awkwardly then he suffered a soft tissue injury in his hamstring in OTAs. When speaking to the media in June, Johnson was confident that Burden III would be ready by the start of the camp, but Wednesday's session showed that's not true.
Johnson even pointed out that Burden III missing practice is pushing him back.
"He misses a lot. Any time you're not out there, if you're in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you're losing valuable time; valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we're talking about."Ben Johnson
This isn't ideal for the Missouri product. The Bears used the 39th overall pick to snag Burden III and have expectations that he'll have a strong role in this offense. They decided to let Keenan Allen walk in free agency, who lined up primarily in the slot. Burden III is expected to take over that role, but he needs to get back out on the field.
Learning the playbook is one thing, but actually being out on the field running through the plays and gaining reps is critical. Football is all about timing. Quarterbacks and receivers always need to be on the same page to maximize their potential. If not, it will lead to miscommunication and potential interceptions during games. Every receiver runs routes differently, while quarterbacks may like receivers to run routes a certain way on specific plays.
The only place to iron these things out before the season is on the football field. It'll be interesting to see when Burden III is back at practice.
Tight end Colston Loveland also missed the spring workouts due to shoulder surgery that he underwent in January. Thankfully for him, he was able to participate in the first training camp session. That's a massive step forward, and Chicago is hoping the same can be said for Burden III soon.