LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Year 2 under Ben Johnson for the Chicago Bears has produced more of the same intensity as his debut season, but with an added layer of expectation after last year’s turnaround. Players have routinely stayed 30 to 40 minutes after scheduled sessions to work on fundamentals, a habit noted throughout a June minicamp practice.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond asked tight end Colston Loveland to stay late for extra throws only to find Loveland had already caught 100 additional passes before practice. Quarterbacks and receivers worked on timing while defensive backs — a unit that helped the Bears lead the NFL with 23 interceptions last season — put in extra work with a JUGS machine.
Johnson’s first season saw him turn a five-win team into an 11-win NFC North champion that fell in the divisional round to the Los Angeles Rams on an overtime field goal. That success has created new standards for preparation. “I don’t think there’s any way you can cut corners and expect to win on Sundays,” Johnson said. Defensive end Montez Sweat summarized the effect succinctly: “He worked the s— out of us.”
Not all players were spared the scrutiny. Quarterback Caleb Williams experienced repeated drills and even ejections from exercises as part of Johnson’s process; Williams described feeling as if he were “drowning” at times last year. The work produced tangible results: Williams set the franchise single-season passing record with 3,942 yards and helped deliver the Bears’ first playoff victory in 15 years.
Physicality remains a central message inside Halas Hall. A sign in the team’s meeting room reads “Physicality,” and Johnson backed that up after a sloppy Family Fest practice by staging one of the most physical training-camp sessions in recent team memory. With temperatures in the upper 90s, the Bears completed their 12th and final install of camp with two hours of live tackling and intense short-yardage work; four separate skirmishes broke out as tempers flared.
General manager Ryan Poles pursued Johnson after the coach helped shape one of the NFL’s top offenses in Detroit, making him the Bears’ top candidate in the 2025 coaching cycle. Training camp opens July 25, when rookies are scheduled to report, and the routine established in Year 1 appears set to continue into Year 2.
