Much of the Chicago Bears‘ hopes for a successful 2025 season hinge on the performance of the offense and second year quarterback, Caleb Williams.
And alongside his protection, which has faced serious upgrades in the offseason; Caleb’s relationship with his receiving corps will have a large part to play in the Bears’ passing attack.
After losing 6 x Pro Bowler, Keenan Allen, in free agency, rookie second round pick, Luther Burden III, should be set to feature prominently in the offense. Heading into the offseason, the expectation was that Burden would feature as the WR3 in the slot, opposite perimeter receivers, DJ Moore and 2024 first round pick, Rome Odunze.
Ben Johnson Shares Thoughts On Luther Burden’s Injury Impacting Reps
However, Burden has been missing from practice for the last month since suffering a soft tissue injury in May. And head coach, Ben Johnson, did not seem particularly happy about the whole situation.
Ben Johnson appears to be frustrated by Luther Burdens unavailability so far through OTAs and Minicamp.pic.twitter.com/sS5BCt2APG
â Polymarket Football (@PolymarketBlitz) June 10, 2025
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“He misses a lot. I mean anytime you’re not out there; if you’re in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you’re losing valuable time. Valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we’re talking about.
It’s not just the coaching staff having trust in you doing the right thing over and over, but it’s also your teammates. They gotta be out there, they have to see you do it. They got to know that the guy right and left of them, that they’re gonna do the right things and they’re gonna make the plays when called upon…It’s a shame he [Burden] got dinged up and missed all that time because, for a young player it’s really where you get the most reps and you can get better in a hurry that way.”
Johnson Visibly Frustrated At Luther Burden’s Situation
Whilst Johnson ended the sentiment noting that this was the same for all players on the team, it is clear that his frustration was directed towards Burden’s situation in particular.
Although there is not a lot that Burden can control over the nature of his injury, there was certainly an audible tone of annoyance and irritation that is seldom seen when coaches talk about injured players.
Perhaps Johnson really wants his early-round draft pick to have as much time to form a bond with Williams, or maybe there are more direct frustrations with Burden’s broader reaction to the injury in general – although there does not seem to be any clear proof of this.
It does not seem at this point like Burden’s time spent away from the practice field has anything to do with the pre-draft character concerns that some teams had of the 2 x All SEC product.
But rookies have time to learn, and if the second round pick is able to return for training camp, then it is still very possible that he can have a successful and productive debut season in the NFL.
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