Training Camp Report: Bears LT, RB spots stay fluid, but could sort out this week

The Chicago Bears are eagerly looking forward to playing another team. They’ll get the chance this week in Cincinnati.

When the Bears travel to the Bengals, however, there will be plenty of fluid position battles that could sort themselves out.

Here’s what we learned from Bears’ training camp on Tuesday, where two offensive positions remain open due to injuries and ongoing rotations.

Sorting open offensive positions

Left Tackle:

The Bears need to find a left tackle.

As in, at some point the team will have to start someone at that position on Sept. 13 when the team opens the season at Carolina. Right now that position is extremely fluid.

The good news is Ozzy Trapilo, somehow, is back. The Bears’ second-year offensive tackle most likely won’t be ready immediately, but he’s on track to play sooner rather than later.  

"Physically, we feel really good about where he’s at," Johnson said. "Now, it’s a race to see how quickly we can rebuild that confidence."

Until the day Trapilo gets back into the rotation, the left tackle spot remains fluid. Braxton Jones returned to practice on Tuesday, however the rotations changed.

Bears coach Ben Johnson said Jones would take first reps, but Theo Benedet would move from the backup right tackle spot to left tackle. Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills Jr. took all the left tackle reps on Saturday. Amegadjie moved to the right tackle spot behind Darnell Wright.

This is a sign the rest of the offensive tackles haven’t gotten to a spot where one has consistently seized the open spot. Jones could have taken firm control of that job, but has been injured.

Rotating Benedet, Amegadjie and Wills is a sign the staff hasn’t seen what they’ve wanted. It was an extra frustrating day for Amegadjie, who also got hurt in practice and threw his helmet as he walked off.

Running Backs:

Kyle Monangai will be absent for maybe the rest of training camp. This is good news in the sense he might be back 

The Bears had Roschon Johnson play with the first-team offense in Monangai’s absence. That should continue going forward, as Johnson is seemingly getting a first crack at second-string reps behind D’Andre Swift.

Salvon Ahmed’s long touchdown on a screen pass on Saturday was an example of how effective he can be in the passing game. Brittain Brown displayed solid bursts on runs through the interior and around the edges of the defensive line on Tuesday.

Johnson seems to be taking most of the reps with Monangai out. That could change.

What's next:

A lot can be solved this week in Cincinnati.

The joint practice on Thursday will tell the coaching staff plenty. The players are looking forward to seeing new looks instead of going against their teammates again. Johnson mentioned top performances on the road will help players secure their roles.

With a consistent performance this week against the Bengals, Jones could take firm control of the starting left tackle job. 

Ben Johnson noted the team isn’t afraid to take the battle into the regular season like it did last year. But, figuring it out beforehand would be ideal.

With Roschon Johnson taking Monangai’s reps, it’s worth watching to see how that could change this weekend. If Brown and Ahmed get more reps with the first-team offense on Thursday or cut into Roschon’s carries on Saturday, it could be a sign the Bears want a little more out of their third-string running back.

Tuesday's practice report

The offense wasn’t perfect, but had its moments on Tuesday. The first-team offense scored touchdowns in the Move-The-Ball drill and in the situational drill.

In an end-of-half situation, the Bears’ offense was up 14-10 with 1:16 on the clock at their own 30-yard line with two timeouts to drive on the defense and score.

The Bears’ first-team offense fit a 10-play drive in that 1:16, and drove to the defense’s 21-yard line. Caleb Williams won the drill with a 21-yard touchdown strike to Jahdae Walker, just one play after Rome Odunze dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone.

The Move-The-Ball drill ended with the first-team offense moving the ball into the red zone and into a first-and-goal situation. Williams hit tight end Colston Loveland for a six-yard touchdown to cap a five-play drive in the drill. The second-team offense won their final drove of the final period when Case Keenum hit JP Richardson over the middle, and Richardson scored from about 20 yards out.

These two wins were a good way for the offense to end the day. The first-team struggled in the first two drives in the final period. Williams completed a pass to D’Andre Swift on the sidelines but the defense was awarded a sack. The second drive ended after the offense didn’t move much.

That set up the final drives, which is where the offense leads off going into Wednesday.

Injury report

Johnson said Monangai will be "week-to-week" with his knee injury. That’s better than being out for multiple weeks, but the Bears will still monitor that position.

Quarterback Tyson Bagent was not present at practice, either. He reportedly has a hamstring injury and his status for Saturday’s game is uncertain.

Marcus Davenport, Tyrique Stevenson, Nephi Sewell, Wesley French, Luke Newman, Jaylon Jones and Terell Smith also didn’t practice.

Johnson was asked about defensive back Kyler Gordon and caught everyone’s attention when he said "there's nothing to add right now."

Gordon is in the building, and Johnson said he sees the work the defensive back is putting in.

"There's a plan and he's working toward the plan," Johnson said. "He's rehabbing."

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