Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles shares multiple injury updates that should have fans a lot more excited for the start of training camp
With one day to go until the Chicago Bears open up the first day of training camp, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson met with the media to provide some updates on the state of the roster.Over the weekend, four players were added to the Non Football Injury List in cornerback Jaylon […]
With one day to go until the Chicago Bears open up the first day of training camp, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson met with the media to provide some updates on the state of the roster.
Over the weekend, four players were added to the Non Football Injury List in cornerback Jaylon Johnson, quarterback Case Keenum, running back Ian Wheeler, and wide receiver Jahdae Walker.
Keenum was activated from the list on Monday and Poles noted Wheeler and Walker are expected to be activated as soon as Tuesday. Johnson, however, will miss time.
Jaylon Johnson expected to miss "weeks"
The team's top cornerback suffered a leg injury that will force him to miss "a few weeks" but did not get into the specifics of what happened.
Regardless, his absence will create a big opportunity for other players to step up at the outside cornerback position to open camp including Tyrique Stevenson, Zah Frazier, Terell Smith, and Nahshon Wright.
Poles did add that he's not overly concerned about Johnson's injury being a long term and has faith in his ability to rehab.
Braxton Jones and Colston Loveland are good to go
As for the good news, left tackle Braxton Jones and first-round pick Colston Loveland are expected to be good to go starting with a ramp up period in training camp.
Jones suffered a fractured fibula late in the 2024 season that forced him to miss the entire offseason program thus far. Upon returning, Jones will enter into a competition to secure his starting position again. While he was out during OTAs and minicamp, second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie shared reps with the ones. All three players are expected to compete for the starting job.
As for the rookie tight end, Loveland underwent an offseason surgery earlier in the year to repair an AC joint injury in his shoulder suffered during his final season at Michigan. Training camp will be Loveland's first opportunity to take the field with the rest of the offense and catch passes from quarterback Caleb Williams.
"They haven't played football in a while, but really they're ready to go knock that rust off and get going," Poles added.
Having Loveland finally on the field is the big update here. After being selected 10th overall, head coach Ben Johnson has talked very highly of what he can do with Loveland's skillset and the immediate impact he will have offensively.
With Jones back, it means the competition for one of the most important offensive positions can occur right out of the gate without any more delay. Both of those updates should create a lot more excitement for camp.
