Chicago Bears training camp news: Bears defense looks ferocious in joint practice with Cincinnati Bengals

LAKE FOREST – The rain was coming down hard at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. Still, the Bears and Cincinnati Bengals played on. Through more than two hours of joint practice, the rain kept falling.

“It’s cool,” Bears safety Kevin Byard said. “It was kind of like a “Remember the Titans”-type of practice, training camp deal. We were out just making jokes on the sideline. You know what I mean? It was fun.”

With two NFL teams – that’s two 90-man rosters worth of players – working at the same time, the teams preferred to play outside across two fields in the rain rather than move indoors. The Bears’ indoor practice facility has only one football field.

The reality is, rain is a part of life in the NFL. The conditions weren’t perfect, but they’re not going to be once the regular season arrives.

“It was great to be out there in the weather today, really for everybody, just because of the ball,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “You have to handle the ball differently in the wet, and it was wet out there.”

It was great to be out there in the weather today, really for everybody, just because of the ball. You have to handle the ball differently in the wet, and it was wet out there.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

There was plenty of slipping and sliding as the rain fell.

The Bears and Bengals will see each other again at noon Saturday at Soldier Field in preseason action. Caleb Williams and the Bears starters will play in the game. Joe Burrow and the Bengals starters will not play.

NFL coaches love these joint practice opportunities because it gives their team a chance to face an opponent in a relatively safe environment.

That being said, a pair of serious-looking injuries for Bengals players put a damper on the afternoon. Cincinnati running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’Ante Smith needed to be carted off the field. It’s unclear if the wet conditions played a part in their injuries.

“You never want to see that,” Byard said. “No matter if it’s our team or their team, it definitely takes the air out of practice a little bit, especially when it happens toward the end. It’s just tough to see. It’s a part of the game.”

Practice highlights

The Bears defense appeared to have the upper hand against Burrow and Cincinnati’s offense. The Bears totaled three takeaways against the Bengals. They did a good job keeping them out of the end zone during a red zone session, too.

Byard and Greg Stroman both had interceptions.

“I felt like the defense brought a lot of energy,” Byard said. “Got some takeaways. Got three turnovers, so that’s always the goal of the day to get three turnovers. So pretty happy with what we’ve done and what we did today.”

The defensive backs had a really good day. Bengals receiver Tee Higgins was participating, but Ja’Marr Chase still is sitting out as he seeks a new contract.

“Those guys over there were raving about our defense,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said of the Bengals.

On the offensive side, Caleb Williams connected with Keenan Allen and DJ Moore for touchdowns in the red zone during 11-on-11. The Bears seemed to be moving the ball pretty well against Cincinnati.

Williams led the first-team offense to a field goal in a two-minute drill against the Bengals starting defense. Williams gained big yardage on completions to Rome Odunze and Allen along the way.

Injury updates

While two Bengals players left with serious injuries the Bears emerged from joint practice relatively unscathed. Cornerback Terell Smith walked out of practice with an apparent injury.

Several Bears players remained out due to injury. Safety Jaquan Brisker, safety Adrian Colbert, receiver DeAndre Carter, defensive end Jacob Martin, lineman Theo Benedet, lineman Ryan Bates and receiver Collin Johnson did not participate in practice.

Guard Nate Davis spoke to members of the media for the first time since training camp began. Davis was a full participant in practice Thursday and played in his usual right guard spot with the first-team offense. Davis missed about two weeks due to an unspecified injury. He missed significant time last year during training camp because of a personal reason, and he also missed a month during the season with an ankle injury. Davis said he’s happy to be back on the practice field.

Asked about the outside perception that he doesn’t like to practice, Davis said, “I’ve been in this league for a long time, and I don’t think I’d be able to do what I did without practicing. Stuff happens. Got to continue to move on.”