Chicago Bears training camp report: Justin Fields and the offense respond during a spirited session at Halas Hall

The Chicago Bears were back in full pads Saturday morning at Halas Hall for the third time this training camp. The two-hour practice was a spirited session, and the offensive starters had a better day. The Bears will be in full pads again Sunday at Soldier Field for Family Fest. Here are the highlights from Saturday and a rundown of what we learned from interviews with general manager Ryan Poles, defensive coordinator Alan Williams and players.

News of the day

General manager Ryan Poles joked that no matter where he found himself over the summer — even on a beach in Maui — Bears fans were there urging him to sign a defensive end. That finally happened Friday when Yannick Ngakoue passed his physical and signed a one-year, $10.5 million.

Ngakoue left town to get his affairs in order so he wasn’t on the practice field. But he is expected to practice Tuesday — the Bears are off Monday. Poles traveled a long road to finalize a deal with Ngakoue, a player the Bears had been in communication dating to the spring.

“We’ve been in this for a long time,” Poles said. “There’s a level of patience that you have to make sound decisions. That’s probably the biggest lesson of the last two years — patience and letting things happen. There’s times we’re going to hit the gas and sometimes you want to hit the brake.

“This one, we wanted to be patient and make sure both sides (were) comfortable with what was going on. It’s been really cool to see our front and secondary making a lot of plays, having energy, making plays on the ball. You really see that thing coming together. And this (signing) is going to enhance it.”

Coach Matt Eberflus said Friday that he views Ngakoue as an “every-down end,” and Williams doubled down on that.

“He’ll be just fine,” Williams said. “He can choke a guy out. Believe me about that. That’s our first thing. We are going to stop the run and we are going to earn the right to rush the passer. He’ll be part of that too.”

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Personnel men with other teams have described Ngakoue as a designated pass rusher, but it’s evident the Bears are going to ask him to do more. The Bears were 32nd in the league in sacks last season and 31st against the run, allowing 157.3 yards per game.

“I don’t think he gets enough credit for doing what he does in the run game,” Williams said. “If you look at the tape, he has been productive — productive enough to win football games.”

Justin Fields watch

Fields and the starting offense had a choppy 11-on-11 period at the start of practice but the quarterback and his surrounding cast gained momentum from there. Fields connected with Velus Jones Jr. in between zone coverage down the left sideline in 7-on-7, one of his best throws of the day. He also tried rookie Tyler Scott on a go route with Tyrique Stevenson in coverage. It was incomplete but there have been days when intermediate passes — such as the one to Jones — and this deep shot have been scarce. He seemed perhaps more willing to cut it loose Saturday.

Fields directed a drive for a field goal in an “end of the first half” possession, putting the team in position for a 48-yard kick by Andre Szmyt. He hit tight end Cole Kmet on a dump-off and then completed out routes to DJ Moore and Equanimeous St. Brown. The big play came on a 17-yard strike to Jones on an in-breaking route.

Player in the spotlight

Marcedes Lewis was introduced to media after practice and discussed preparing for an 18th NFL season. He projects primarily as a blocking tight end in the running game, and it’s clear the Bears also are looking for him to provide an element of leadership.

Tight end Robert Tonyan credited Lewis for teaching him “seriously everything” about playing the position in the NFL while they were in Green Bay. Tonyan was a quarterback and wide receiver in college.

“That was the person that took me under his wing,” Tonyan said.

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Lewis said Tonyan and regular conversations with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, whom he knows from the Packers, convinced him this was the team to sign with. Lewis had options, and Aaron Rodgers tried to lure him to New York, but the Jets are flush with tight ends.

So why keep going?

“I came into the league and I thought 10 (years) was going to be great, you know what I mean?” Lewis said. “Like, ‘Oh this is a great career. I can take this, go back to the crib, you’re good, family’s good.’ Once I hit 10, it was like, ‘Hmm, my body still feels good. Let’s see if I can get 12.’ Get 12, ‘OKk, well let’s see if I can get 15.’ Get 15, I’m like, ‘Dang, this is crazy.’ Then after a while I just stopped questioning.”

It sounds as if the young roster around Lewis, who is 39, could be an energizing factor.

“One thing I’ve always been attracted to are young guys that understand that they don’t know it all,” Lewis said. “Even me being older, I still don’t know it all. I still want to learn. That’s what keeps me hungry, and when you find you guys that feel the same way, you want to pore into them. And I’ve always been like that. When it’s like that, it’s more of a two-way street.

“I still love the game. It’s one of those things where if I was to stop playing this game, it would be mentally first. Physically, that’s going to be there. It’s when your mind just checks out and your body normally just follows that. Mentally, I am still at a place where I feel like I can help a team win. Ultimately you try to win a championship. If I still have that feeling and there is still opportunity out there for me to showcase my talent, why not? Part of it, too, is showing people that (playing 18 seasons) can be done.”

Quote of the day

With a slew of new faces on defense, the Bears have been adamant they will be greatly improved on defense. That sentiment has been repeated and maybe even amplified since the addition of Ngakoue.

There’s basically no place to go but up in nearly every significant metric. The Bears were 32nd in points allowed, yards per pass attempt, sacks and third down in 2022 and 31st in total defense and run defense.

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Cornerback Jaylon Johnson is predicting a radical turnaround, talking openly about “dominating” on that side of the ball.

“We’ve got a lot of new bodies, a lot of new faces,” Johnson said. “You add two high-level linebackers (Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards), I can arguably say easily two of the top 10 linebackers in the league. You put them together and that sets the tone up front. We did a lot of adding to that D-line. I know we’re more experienced on the back end and we’re jelling together.

“We’re coming together. Now adding the pass rusher, I don’t think there’s anywhere that we’re weak at. Just being able to see our roster — you look at the guys and the quality of people we have this year — there’s nothing that we can’t do.”

Things get heated

With the offense seeking to answer back to the chippiness of the defense in recent practices, wide receiver Chase Claypool instigated a brief kerfuffle. After he caught a drag route and turning upfield near the boundary, safety Eddie Jackson came up and put a solid hit on Claypool — perhaps with a little more authority than a customary practice thud. Claypool reacted by throwing the ball at Jackson, and they were quickly surrounded by teammates with Jackson’s helmet coming off among the mass of players.

“I love a lively practice,” Williams said. “And I’m not concerned about the offense. I have my hands full for sure just being the coordinator. But I love our energy. I love the way we run to the ball.

“I would say this — make sure it’s competitive, not combative. I don’t like the pushing and shoving after the whistle. When they let us do that in the ball game, hey, we’ll be all over it in practice. Part of it is playing hard, playing fast, playing with energy. I love the chippiness. That says that we’re establishing an identity. But the after-the-whistle stuff, yeah, I’m not for that part.”

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The completion to Claypool was easily the most productive play of the team session for the starting offense. When the period was over, Fields chatted briefly with Jackson and Johnson, perhaps keeping the focus on competition and not combat, as Williams said.

“I mean at some point the boys got to fight back as a unit,” Johnson said. “I definitely think they have some dogs individually. They just have to put it all together and at some point, hey, just fight back. Even if you’re not executing. At least if you go out there and … we’re not laying down.

“You can fix the execution after that. But it showed a lot just for them to come out and have a certain level of physicality and fight. I mean, just whatever it is, you’ve got to (mature) at some point and really go out there and fight back and let that be known.”

Whether the brief incident was a spark or not, the offense was more productive in team periods over the remainder of practice.

Injury report

Left guard Teven Jenkins returned to practice after sitting out Friday, although Alex Leatherwood replaced him with starters in some team drills. Meanwhile, right guard Nate Davis, signed to a three-year, $30 million contract in free agency, was sidelined for the fourth consecutive practice.

“We’re not too concerned with that,” Poles said when asked about the health and depth on the interior of the line. “You don’t want guys to be out of practice. But over the years I’ve actually gone from panicking in those situations where guys aren’t practicing and you get frustrated about it, whatever the circumstance is. It’s also a really cool opportunity to see what the depth looks like and getting a ton of really good reps for the guys that are on the second team to insert.”

Edmunds missed practice for the second day in a row and strong safety Jaquan Brisker was held out for the first time. Still absent were defensive end DeMarcus Walker, linebacker Jack Sanborn and wide receivers Dante Pettis and Joe Reed.

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Bears fans cheer for autographs after practice on July 27, 2023, during training camp at Halas Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Odds and ends

Maybe the prettiest throw of the day was a deep shot from P.J. Walker to Nsimba Webster for a touchdown. The play was for about 40 yards, and Walker did a good job of manipulating coverage with his eyes. ... Scott muffed a punt during the team period and recovered the ball. ... Dylan Cole ran with the starters at linebacker in place of Edmunds. ... Roschon Johnson ripped off a powerful run up the middle during the team period. It looked like he was seeking more contact than he got with his shoulder pads. ... In a team period, running back Khalil Herbert bobbled a short pass. He finally corralled the ball, only to then fumble.