Sean Hammond
@seanhammond
Chicago Bears beat reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
The Bears have released their first unofficial depth chart. Braxton Jones is listed first at LT, but the three-way position battle continues. Bears still juggling things in the secondary with Kyler Gordon and Coby Bryant sidelined. Kalif Raymond listed as the lead return man.
Crowd filtering in now for the Bears walkthrough practice at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. Walkthrough starts at 11 a.m.
Up close and personal with Eric Studesville and the Bears running backs.
We don’t always see Darnell Wright’s humor in media sessions. But when asked what college Darnell would say about becoming the highest-paid right tackle, he thought about it for a second then said: “Well, I play left tackle right now.” His media session was fantastic.
Back at it for day two of pads. CB Terrell Smith doesn’t appear to be practicing. He left early yesterday. I have not seen rookie defensive back K.C. Eziomume either.
The Bears started inside but moved outside for most of practice. It was a soggy one in the rain. Lots of passes hit the ground. Kyle Monangai was the only notable absence.
Thoughts from practice No. 3 ▪️End-of-half was a focus and Caleb Williams led the starters to a TD (to Loveland) in a 2-min drill ▪️Jaylon Johnson had the first INT of camp, picking off CW in 7on7 ▪️Revolving door at LT today with Amegadjie, Wills and Jones
Rome Odunze clarifies his “new normal” comment. Rome says his foot feels great and he probably didn’t articulate his thoughts well with that comment. Said he doesn’t even think about his foot anymore. Here’s his full answer.
And we’re back! Checking in from Halas Hall, where Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson are set to talk in about an hour.
The Bears Hallmark movie appears to be filming this week at Andersonville Hardware Store on Clark Street.
Pinch hitting on the Cubs today for @chicagosports.bsky.social. Cubs and Brewers open up a three-game series tonight in Milwaukee.
Soldier Field is ready for some futbol. U.S. vs. Germany begins at 1:30 p.m.
Bears WR Rome Odunze was asked if his foot is 100% healthy after last year. Odunze said he continues to rehab it and that this is “my new normal.” Here are the full answers for context. To be clear, he has been participating this spring.
Bears first-round pick Dillon Thieneman hits the practice field for rookie minicamp.
The Bears are set for rookie minicamp today and tomorrow. Here’s the rookie minicamp roster.
📍Halas Hall Bears veterans are back for the first day of the voluntary offseason program. We will hear from several veteran players today, including QB Caleb Williams.
No shortage of tears from Brad Underwood after this one. An emotional run ends for the Illini.
The man himself: Bill Murray. Illini fans were unhappy with his change of allegiance.
One hour until kickoff … er, tipoff. Illinois vs. UConn in the national semifinals. The Illini play in their first Final Four since 2005.
The Illini fans showed out for Illinois’ open practice on Friday at the Final Four.
The Fighting Illini are here for their open practice Friday morning at Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of the Final Four.
Checking in from Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where Illinois State will take on Auburn in an NIT semifinals tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Asked about his favorite safeties in the league, Ohio State’s Caleb Downs brought up Kevin Byard unprompted. “His film this year was crazy,” Downs said.
Ryan Poles on his thoughts about the Rooney Rule in general incentivizing draft picks for HC and GM hires: “To be honest it is a little strange. You should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin.”