The Chicago Bears did not have rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III available for the first two practices of their 2025 NFL training camp, and it sounds as though that could remain the case for him as he continues to nurse an injury.
Burden suffered a hamstring injury during the Bears’ rookie minicamp in May and missed OTAs and mandatory minicamp as a result. At the time, Bears head coach Ben Johnson expressed optimism that Burden would return from what he described as a “soft-tissue” injury before the start of camp, but that has not proven to be the case.
Nevertheless, Johnson told reporters on the second day of camp that the Bears remain “hopeful” that their No. 39 overall draft pick will return to the field in the coming days.
“We were very hopeful that he’d be ready to go Day 1,” Johnson said Thursday. “But the soft tissue that he was dealing with there in the springtime lingered a bit longer than we wanted. So really, it’s day-to-day with him. Hopeful we’ll get him out there fairly soon, though.”
Luther Burden Could Seize Significant Role for Bears
The Bears were delightfully surprised when Burden fell out of the first round and into their clutches early in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft in April.
The former Missouri standout receiver had been projected as a likely first-round pick after catching 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023, but his stock declined with his production in 2024 as he found less success in a worse Tigers offense.
Even still, Burden could claim a significant role in Johnson’s reimagined Bears offense for the 2025 season. The Bears have two clear-cut starters in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, but their slot receiver role is up for grabs after veteran Keenan Allen’s exit.
Burden will have competition for the role from veterans Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay, but his unique blend of speed, youth and athleticism and excellent after-the-catch ability should allow him to make a strong case for the role before the season.
To do so, though, Burden must make sure he gets back and avoids missing too much.
Ben Johnson on Burden’s Absence: ‘He Misses A Lot.”
Johnson had quite a bit on his plate in the spring, getting to know his new Bears players and beginning to install his new coaching staff’s systems and philosophies on the field. After all, he is a first-year head coach who, to an extent, is also learning the ropes.
Johnson didn’t mince words, though, when asked in the spring about the time that his second-round rookie receiver had missed — and what those absences had cost him.
“He misses a lot,” Johnson said in June during mandatory minicamp. “Any time 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 have to be out there, they have to see you do it. They have to know that the guy to the right and the left of them are going to do the right things, and they’re going to make the plays when called upon.”
Bears Had 2 Other Players Absent From Day 2 of Camp
Burden was not the only Bears player absent from Thursday’s second camp practice.
Johnson also noted Thursday that second-round rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner (ankle) and fifth-round rookie cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) were not present. It was the first practice missed for Turner in camp, but the second straight for Frazier.
In both cases, Johnson did not expand on when he expects the two players to return, but it does keep the Bears without a sizable chunk of their new rookie class for the first unpadded days of practice. On the bright side, everyone else was available, including first-round tight end Colston Loveland — who is ramping back up after shoulder surgery in the offseason kept him off the field for all of OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
The Bears will practice again at 8:30 a.m. CT on Friday, July 25.
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