| To: ggersh who wrote (7216) | 4/28/2024 6:09:12 PM | | From: Investor2 | | | | Sorry about the faulty video.
Undrafted free agents as of 04-28-2024 5:00 pm:
Here are all of the UDFA signings and camp invites the Bears have made so far:
View the original article to see embedded media.
- Austin Reed, QB, Western Kentucky
- Keith Randolph, DT, Illinois
- Reddy Steward, CB, Troy
- Jamree Kromah, DE, JMU
- Theo Benedet, OT, British Columbia
- Brenden Bates, TE, Kentucky
- Ian Wheeler, RB, Howard
- Carl Jones, LB, UCLA
- Odieu Hiliare, WR, Bowling Green
Out of this list, the player I'm most intrigued by the Bears adding after the draft is Illinois defensive tackle Keith Randolph. Randolph was the 18th ranked defensive tackle on Dane Brugler's The Beast, and is a very stout run defender who could add some solid versatile/situational depth to the Bears' defensive line.
Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed is another fascinating addition to the roster. Reed played for two years in Western Kentucky's RPO/Air-Raid scheme and led the conference in passing yards during the 2023 season. Reed will likely be nothing more than a camp arm but could push for the #3 job against 2023 undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent. |
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| From: roto | 4/28/2024 8:52:17 PM | | | | | | I'm thinking the numbed- down Bear's fans have not realized the potent of Bear's '24 play
How the Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze workout was a glimpse into the Bears’ future
 By Kevin Fishbain
5h ago
When former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh asked Rome Odunze if he wanted to join a workout in Los Angeles with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, it was an easy answer.
“Hell yeah I do,” Odunze told him.
As Houshmandzadeh, who has been training Odunze, watched the workout, he thought to himself, “If Rome makes it to No. 9, the Bears will draft him.”
Thursday night, after their workout together, and after they happened to be on the same flight together to Detroit, Williams and Odunze became teammates and the future of the Chicago Bears offense.
“Once the Chargers did not draft Malik Nabers, I said, Rome’s going to the Bears,” Houshmandzadeh told The Athletic. “And this is something that he wanted once he got to that workout with Caleb Williams, this is what he wanted was to be drafted by the Bears. And so I’m just glad that it happened. And that little chemistry that they were working on now will be developed and honed in on.”
GO DEEPER
Bears 2024 NFL Draft takeaways: Sky's the limit for Rome Odunze, Caleb Williams
A couple of days before the draft, Bears general manager Ryan Poles heard about the workout. He thought it was “pretty cool,” but he was nervous about Odunze being available at No. 9. He was nervous about it until the Bears went on the clock Thursday night.
“When I found that out, it was cool,” Poles said, “and obviously now, that group’s worked together, which is good.”
Odunze had an early flight to Detroit for the draft. He called Houshmandzadeh and asked if they could fit in a training session before he took off.
They eventually agreed that would be too early, but it speaks to Odunze’s work ethic.
“He’s a pro already,” Houshmandzadeh said. “That acclimation period was Thursday, the day he got drafted, he’s a pro. He approaches things as such.”
Odunze’s wide receivers coach at Washington in 2021, Junior Adams, who is now at Oregon, linked Odunze and Houshmandzadeh. A Pro Bowler in 2007 after 1,143 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, Houshmandzadeh works with receivers on two main things.
“If you do these two things, you’re going to have a great career: separation at the top of the route and beating press coverage,” he said. “That’s what we work on every single day until we get it, and we never really get it. That’s an ongoing thing with me: Let’s create separation at the top of the route and let’s beat press coverage, because the best receivers in the National Football League from the time I can remember, they do those two things on a consistent basis.”
GO DEEPER
Bears Day 2 draft takeaways: Caleb Williams unfazed as new era begins in Chicago
The new Bears receiver has impressed Houshmandzadeh with his skill set already. When Houshmandzadeh watched clips, he saw Odunze making “every hard catch look like it’s an easy catch.” When he met him in person, he was struck by Odunze’s size.
“You don’t realize how big he is until you meet him,” Houshmandzadeh said of the 6-foot-2, 212-pounder. “But he’s a really good route runner. He’s smooth and he catches the ball well. It’s very rare that you see what I just said in a receiver of his size. You don’t see a guy with his size that has great ball skills, is a really good route runner and is really smooth.”
Asked if he could think of a comparison in the NFL, Houshmandzadeh was stumped.
“I can’t think of anybody,” he said.
Throughout training, Houshmandzadeh has also seen what kind of person Odunze is.
“Rome is unbelievable as a human being,” he said. “And if you’ve met him, and once you get around him, the way he talks to people, the way he interacts with people, the way he treats you, he is just a good person who was raised the right way and didn’t let Rome the football player take the place of Rome the human being and how you should treat others.”
HOW @RomeOdunze ?!?! ??
??: @ABCNetwork pic.twitter.com/To8qqIKNtI
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) October 14, 2023
John Jackson III is a wide receiver who began his career at USC, where he became best friends with Williams. He played the 2023 season for Nevada and has been training with Houshmandzadeh as well.
He broached the topic of getting Odunze to Williams’ workout with the Bears receivers.
“I learned a lot,” Odunze said. “It was a great workout, just four of us getting better, working on our craft. That’s exactly what it was. I see that Keenan’s smooth. I see how explosive DJ is. And I see that Caleb can sling the ball wherever he chooses. I’m super excited to work with that group now, officially, and I think we can do special things.”
Watching from the sideline, Houshmandzadeh knew what to expect from Williams. He has seen Allen run routes and he’s watched Moore. He wanted to see how everyone meshed. Once he did, he saw the potential if it worked out for Odunze to join the Bears.
Houshmandzadeh has also gotten to know Williams through the pre-draft process. His first impression?
“He just cares about football,” he said.
GO DEEPER
Greenberg: All Caleb Williams has to do in Chicago is be himself … and win lots of games
As he talked about Williams, he went through some of the nonsense that is often referenced when some critique Williams. And Houshmandzadeh had a response.
“Listen, man, I don’t give a f— what you do, man. Can you get us results? Can you get us to where we want to go?” he said. “He’s a good person, man. At the end of the day, Caleb played in college football like no quarterback we’ve ever seen. And normally that translates to the National Football League.”
Now Williams gets to throw to Moore, Allen and Odunze, and he already had a head start.
When the Cincinnati Bengals ended a 15-year playoff drought in 2005, Houshmandzadeh joined wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Rudi Johnson on the league’s fourth-highest-scoring offense.
He knows what it looks like when a team has a bevy of targets, and the Bears also have tight end Cole Kmet, who has trained with Houshmandzadeh as well.
“Pick your poison,” Houshmandzadeh said. “If Caleb is clicking and this offense comes together the way it should, what do you do? DJ Moore is extremely dynamic on the outside. You got Rome on the other side. People don’t know this — Rome ran a 10.5(-second) 100 meters in high school. That is rolling at 6-3. … Don’t get it twisted that Rome is big. Rome will run right by you.
“Then you’ve got one of the best route runners in the slot in Keenan Allen. You also have (D’Andre) Swift in the backfield that can get active. So you have a group of skill-position players that can do so much. … Could quite possibly see something special here.”
GO DEEPER
Dream scenario plays out for Bears as they pair Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze
When Round 1 ended and Poles met the media, he expressed how grateful he was to have landed the quarterback and receiver, a too-good-to-be-true moment after knowing they recently threw together with his top receivers.
“If you told me we would end up with both Caleb and Rome weeks ago, I would’ve said you were crazy,” Poles said.
Based on what Houshmandzadeh knows about the two rookies and the offense they’re joining, “crazy” is a word he also used.
“The Bears are about to go crazy this year,” he said, “and I’m not a Chicago Bears fan, but they are going to have one of the best offenses in the league if Caleb is what we all think he’s going to be.”
(Top photos of Rome Odunze and Caleb William: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
theathletic.com
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| To: Investor2 who wrote (7217) | 5/3/2024 8:50:39 AM | | From: ggersh | | | | No worries, it was a youtube mess up
per usual.
On paper daBears look pretty good, hopefully
that transfers over to how they play and how
they're coached, fingers crossed
supposedly the Bears want a lot of moolah
for the stadium +++++, $7.6 bil now....yikes |
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| From: roto | 5/8/2024 7:44:16 PM | | | | | | downstate resistance?
Illinois Governor Gives Disappointing Update On New Bears Stadium
BY DREW COOK
PUBLISHED 5 DAYS AGO
givemesport.com
The Bears have hit a wall in their attempt to get taxpayer dollars to help fund their project.
 Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Chicago Bears' $2.3B stadium funding request was rejected by Illinois governor.
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| To: ggersh who wrote (7220) | 5/9/2024 10:56:19 PM | | From: Investor2 | | | | Bears begin three-day rookie minicamp at Halas Hall (chicagobears.com)
The Bears kicked off their rookie minicamp Thursday and are slated to conduct non-contact practices Friday and Saturday at Halas Hall.
A total of 43 prospects will participate: all five draft picks, nine undrafted free agents and two first-year Bears—as well as 23 unsigned rookies and four unsigned veterans taking part on a tryout basis, hoping to earn a contract. (Complete list is below.)
The players arrived Thursday, trickling into Halas Hall throughout the afternoon. They met with athletic trainers and the equipment and video staffs and posed for headshots.
Every player entered Halas Hall through a hallway that's lined with the names and numbers of the 14 players who have had their numbers retired by the Bears.
Here are the players who are slated to participate in the rookie minicamp:
Draft picks (5):
Undrafted free agents (9):
Bears first-year pros (2)
- Douglas Coleman III, defensive back
- Cameron Lyons, long-snapper
Unsigned veterans (4)
- Parry Nickerson, defensive back
- Josh Sokol, center
- Freddie Swain, receiver
- Tommy Sweetney, tight end
Unsigned rookies (23)
- Brian Abraham, Albany linebacker
- Noah Atagi, Weber State offensive tackle
- T.D. Ayo-Durojaiye, Villanova running back
- Travian Blaylock, Wisconsin defensive back
- Russell Dandy, Eastern Illinois defensive back
- Mark Ho Ching, Northern Arizona defensive tackle
- John Jackson, USC receiver
- Patrick Jolly, Abilene Christian defensive back
- Leon Jones, Arkansas State defensive back
- DaShaun Mallory, Arizona State defensive tackle
- Samuel Matthews, Texas A&M safety
- John McCartan, Oregon State defensive end
- Rich Miller Jr., Kansas linebacker
- Paul Moala, Georgia Tech linebacker
- R.J. Mobley, Winston-Salem receiver
- Decorian Patterson, Central Florida defensive back
- Kendarin Ray, Tulsa defensive back
- Marcus Rogers, Troy receiver
- David Satkowski, Stonehill guard
- Geor'quarius Spivey, Mississippi State tight end
- Kameron Stutts, Auburn guard
- Donald Ventrelli, North Dakota guard
- Shelton Zeon, UNLV tight end
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