The Bear’s Den, June 16, 2023

WE WANT YOU!

Would you like to show your Chicago Bears spirit to the world? I’m starting a feature where Windy City Gridiron readers can share pictures of themselves and their families and friends in Bears attire. Simply email a picture to me at the following address: denmasterken at aol dot com. The pictures need to be clear, and full resolution (i.e. full size from your phone if that’s how you take them). Include any description information you like along with the photo!

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

Connection with DJ Moore buoys Justin Fields - Chicago Sun-Times - With a No. 1 wide receiver, more overall weapons and his own improved leadership skills, the Bears’ third-year quarterback is excited about taking a giant leap in 2023. “Everybody’s been great up to this point, and we just look to take that next step,” he said.

NFL briefs Bears about gambling policy, lists 6 things that are verboten - Chicago Sun-Times - “It was a great message from them,” head coach Matt Eberflus said Thursday. “It was real simple. It had six points of what to do, what not to do, and it was really good.”

Bears podcast: Summer break arrives - Chicago Sun-Times - There are still plenty of questions to address before training camp opens next month.

Bears QB Justin Fields heading to Paris for football camp - Chicago Sun-Times - Bears quarterback Justin Fields is spending his weekend in France.

Bears, GM Ryan Poles hope to have a drama-free summer - Chicago Sun-Times - He has four players up for contract extensions this offseason and would do well to establish clarity on all of them before training camp starts.

Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields COOKS in the red zone to end minicamp - In this episode of the CHGO Bears Podcast, the guys analyze the Bears' final day of minicamp, which included Justin Fields throwing touchdowns throughout practice in the red zone period.

Bears minicamp observations: Justin Fields shines in red zone – NBC Sports Chicago - Justin Fields and the Bears' offense finished the offseason program with a bang.

Bears, Justin Fields improving on deep passes through minicamp – NBC Sports Chicago - The Justin Fields to DJ Moore connection has helped the Bears offense as a whole.

How Justin Fields, DJ Moore developed quick chemistry for Bears – NBC Sports Chicago - Bears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver DJ Moore are ahead of schedule in their offseason quest to build unbreakable chemistry.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus shares summer training plan for players – NBC Sports Chicago - Bears OTAs and minicamp are done and training camp is over a month away, but there's still work to do.

Matt Eberflus: I’ll benefit from ‘the second time through it’ - Chicago Sun-Times - To expect Fields and Eberflus to grow only because of experience, though, is far too passive of an exercise. The Bears can’t hope for improvement merely because of natural growth that occurs between Years 1 and 2.

PFF names Bears sophomore one with ‘most pressure to perform’ – NBC Sports Chicago - Pro Football Focus named Kyler Gordon as a sophomore playing under the “most pressure to perform”

Justin Fields invites Bears WRs, TEs, RBs to workout in Florida – NBC Sports Chicago - Justin Fields had offseason workouts with Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet last season.

Dannehy: Eberflus Defense Can Be Productive Without Pressure - Da Bears Blog - Much of the current discussion regarding the 2023 Chicago Bears has been about the need to add another pass rusher. While that certainly would be nice, Eberflus has already shown us he doesn’t need a great pass rush to have a productive defense.

Chicago Bears Linebacker Doesn’t Care About Team’s Struggles in 2022 - On Tap Sports Net - Chicago Bears linebacker DeMarcus Walker doesn’t care about the team’s struggles last season.

Bears Sign Pair of Second-Round Draft Picks on Final Day of Minicamp - On Tap Sports Net - On the final day of Chicago Bears minicamp, 2023 second-round picks DT Gervon Dexter Sr. and CB Tyrique Stevenson signed their rookie deals.

What to Expect from Bears RB Roschon Johnson - On Tap Sports Net - Using statistics to compare and project Roschon Johnson’s rookie season with the Chicago Bears.

NFL Rumors: Bears unhappy with Chase Claypool – NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears are rumored to be unhappy with Chase Claypool this offseason

KNOW THINE ENEMY

‘Hard Knocks’ reportedly wanted a second season with the Detroit Lions - Pride Of Detroit - NFL Films reportedly reached out ot the Detroit Lions to film a second consecutive season of “Hard Knocks” in Lions training camp.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Patrick Mahomes would make most teams into instant Super Bowl contenders - ProFootballTalk - In the NFC, we spotted a few teams that possibly wouldn’t become contenders with Mahomes on the team. The Cardinals, the Bears, and maybe the Rams.

Derek Carr apologizes for Raiders not getting his best last season - ProFootballTalk - “They just didn’t get my best and that drove me crazy at the end of the year because I felt so spread out in so many different ways,” Carr said this week, via Brett Martel of the Associated Press. “I just didn’t feel like myself and I feel bad for the [Raiders] coaches and players.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Bears sign Gervon Dexter Sr. and Tyrique Stevenson - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have signed their last two draft picks.

Zimmerman: Justin Fields shines on final day of Chicago Bears mandatory minicamp - Windy City Gridiron - As the Bears start their 6 week break before training camp, Justin Fields looked sharp in their final practice

Top 3 Bears on their rookie deals will make the biggest improvement - Windy City Gridiron - Taylor Doll and Clay Harbor give their top three Chicago Bears on their rookie contracts that they expect to improve the most in 2023.

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