The 2023 Bears will take the field for the first time Saturday when they open the preseason against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.
While some teams choose not to play their starters in the preseason, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said "selected starters" will see the field Saturday. That includes quarterback Justin Fields. The third-year quarterback played 18 snaps in last year's preseason opener, and he'll likely see one or two series against the Titans.
Several defensive starters have missed a chunk of training camp with what the Bears deem "not long-term injuries." It's unlikely that safety Jaquan Brisker, right guard Nate Davis, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, and rookie cornerback Terell Smith play Saturday.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday's practice. He did not participate in Thursday's practice, and it's unlikely he will play Saturday.
Saturday, however, will be an important moment for the 2023 draft class. Aside from Smith, who has missed the last three practices, every rookie is expected to get a good dose of preseason football Saturday against the Titans.
That will be the focus of our gaze as the Bears take the next step in their preparation for the 2023 season.
Darnell Wright's first test
The Bears drafted Wright with the No. 10 overall pick back in April because they believed he was the best offensive tackle in a strong class. Wright's blend of size, strength, and athleticism is precisely what the Bears want in their offensive linemen.
While the Bears believe Wright has an All-Pro ceiling, the rookie has had a tough start to training camp. The Bears have thrown a lot at the rookie, and his youth and inexperience have shown. Wright has had several costly false starts in team drills and had trouble blocking both Rasheem Green and Trevis Gipson.
Still, the Bears remain pleased with his steady growth. Saturday's test against what likely will be the Titans' backups -- Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel plays his starters sparingly in the preseason -- is a good chance for Wright to take a step forward.
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"Just execution and him being able to play down in and down out," head coach Matt Eberflus said of what he wants to see from Wright. "He's doing a great job of where he is in terms of a rookie. Obviously, a really good talent and we're looking forward to seeing him against the NFL rusher, you know, that's in a live game. I'm sure he's excited about it too. Just the execution, down in, down out, when it's play eight, play nine of a drive, if we get there, just seeing the execution down the road."
While Wright has had an up-and-down training camp, the Bears have lauded the rookie for being coachable and rarely making the same mistake twice. They'll look for that to continue Saturday.
"The best thing about Darnell is just, like, when he makes these mistakes the first time, or maybe he’s bright-eyed and doesn’t know, he is all-in and taking in the coaching and then applying it right away," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Thursday. "He plays so fast, and so we don’t want to take that away. We don’t want him to be a thinker. The guy plays so fast and physical. It’s all a learning curve for him, right? Coming from the college game, particularly the style they played too. The most important thing is that his mindset and playstyle fit who we are.
"I think we’re off to a great start with him. He’s going to have a lot to learn still as we go through it. There’s not one area. The way he’s trending, it’s going to continue to get better."
Tyrique Stevenson's chance
Assuming Smith doesn't suit up Saturday, the game vs. the Titans will be the perfect chance to second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson to jump ahead in what is expected to be a month-long competition to be the starting cornerback opposite Jaylon Johnson.
Stevenson appeared to have a vice grip on the job when the Bears broke for the summer. The Miami product took most of the first-team reps at the second boundary corner spot while Smith was out with an injury.
But Stevenson and Smith have evenly split the reps with the first team since the start of training camp. Each rookie corner has had good and bad moments against the first-team defense in camp. Stevenson has had more ball production, but Smith has allowed fewer receptions.
With Smith unlikely to play, Stevenson will have a golden opportunity against the Titans.
"I mean he is making plays all over the field," safety Eddie Jackson said of Stevenson. "You know he is stepping up to the plate. He's buying in. You know [cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke] is tough on him, but at first he was a little shied away, but now he is locked in. You know he knows it's just tough coaching. It's all love. Just his mindset. Like he wants to go out there. He wants to ball and that is another high energy guy. You know a young guy, he is making plays. You see him fired up. He gets up and makes a play. That's what we need. Everything is starting to mesh together."
Tyler Scott's entrance
The Bears are incredibly high on fourth-round rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott. The Cincinnati product has 4.21 speed, which is something you can't teach. He also has the route-running ability to match. Scott understands how to use his speed in and out of breaks and has worked on mastering mirroring up his routes to make them all look the same.
Facing Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner during practice in college helped with that.
Scott has had an uneven camp. He had several good days, complete with a few splash plays, but a couple days of drops and muffed punts followed.
With Claypool unlikely to play and Darnell Mooney and DJ Moore expected to be on a tight pitch count (7-10 snaps), Scott should get plenty of time on turf with backup quarterback P.J. Walker.
A good showing against the Titans could mean more reps with Fields and the ones going forward. A good showing isn't about big plays, though. It's about showing he has mastered, or is at least close to mastering, a complex offense. If he can do that, he can accelerate the growing trust between him and Fields.
"I think it's definitely part of the development period of just continuing to grow," Scott said Thursday about being dependable. "Just knowing assignments, alignments, being where you are supposed to be. I think I had one route yesterday. I had like a corner route of some sort, and they played zone coverage, and I came out of it. I was on the field with Justin at the time. I came out of it, and I wanna say I came out kind of too high, and on one of those he was like, 'Hey, moreso just settle down.' I understand too, like, you know, still learning, getting that together. But just being able to use your eyes and just kind of seeing what is going on in front of you, so you can find those soft windows in zones.
"Just take your game to the next level, so that is just all a part of just learning the different plays, learning what the landmarks are. We have so many different routes and conversions. Things that change based off of coverage, so those things are just part of learning curve but the biggest thing is just coming in each day and learning from the last day. Just hoping you can continue to get better and do your assignments."
I expect Scott to see a decent amount of snaps Saturday, giving him an opportunity to showcase his speed and perhaps start to move up the pecking order in the receiver room.
