Chicago Bears rookies aim to use break after minicamp for bonding, learning playbook
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Bears wrapped up their offseason program with a light rookies-only practice on Wednesday.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams said the biggest thing he's accomplished during his first offseason program in the NFL has been building a connection with his teammates. He's a big believer that's an important part for any successful team.
"You're mentality is different," he said. "Everything is different when you're out there playing for each other, and not out there playing for yourself. The connection, being able to build a bond between not just [the] eleven on the field, but the next eleven that come onto the field, which is the defense and the next eleven. That's where the connection comes from because you can't build something pretty special at the end of the year without that bond, love, and trust for your brothers."
Both Williams and rookie receiver Rome Odunze talked about their plans to improve the next few weeks leading up to training camp. For Odunze, that includes physically walking through some of the routes to learn the playbook, and having his mom and dad help.
"Yeah when I go back to Vegas, mom's gonna have to go to work," Odunze said. "She's going to have to be out there in that 115 degrees. She already knows that, but it's all love. They want the best for me. They enjoy it. I don't get to go home too often."
There was also talk of what the players will do over the next few weeks that they have off. Williams said he and veteran receiver Keenan Allen are working on setting up a time for a large group to do some work together away from the facility, and not just offensive guys.
They want defensive guys there because he said it's also about bonding, as they hope to hit the ground running when camp opens in just over a month.
