I want to start this month’s Bears report by paying tribute to John "Moon" Mullin, who passed away on Father’s Day after a long bout with pancreatic cancer. Growing up a Bears fan here in Chicago, I always found Mullin’s coverage of the team to be top notch as well as enjoyable with a sense of humor, a rare combination. It was always a pleasure to read his columns in the Chicago Tribune or see him on Comcast SportsNet Chicago where he later became the Bears Insider. He will be greatly missed.

QB Justin Fields caused a bit of a stir recently when he admitted that he wasn’t ready for the regular season to start. Then again, just about everything related to Fields creates a stir. Just ask Twitter. He and his teammates are learning a brand-new offense, so of course there are going to be mistakes and growing pains. Fields was never going to be game-ready in June. Let’s hope he is by September. Given how driven he is, I think he will be. Fields showed improved leadership in OTAs/minicamp, and he’s been working on his release and his footwork, including taking shotgun snaps with his left foot forward instead of his right so he can get rid of the ball faster.

Not much here, other than it’s pretty apparent that the Bears are going to run a lot. As former HC Lovie Smith used to say, they may even "get off the bus running."

WR Darnell Mooney and Fields trained together in Atlanta in the offseason and have developed a special bond on and off the field. Rookie WR Velus Jones Jr is well-aware of how important he’ll be to the offense this season and will join Fields and Mooney in Atlanta for throwing sessions before training camp starts next month.

In early June, new OC Luke Getsy said he was very impressed with TE Cole Kmet and was "excited to see him have a bunch of different roles in our offense." With TE Jimmy Graham no longer here and not much quality depth in the receivers room, Kmet should have an increased role in the offense this season. He is set to attend the second annual "Tight End University" organized by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen this week.

The main headline here was that rookie fifth-rounder T Braxton Jones got some work with the starting O-line at left tackle at both OTAs and mandatory minicamp, with T Larry Borom switching over to right tackle. T Teven Jenkins had been the starting right tackle and was relegated to the second unit. New HC Matt Eberflus said that he was just trying different players and line combos, but that didn’t stop people from starting to panic about Jenkins. Of course it’s a summer bummer for him, but it’s too early to say anything definitive about how the line will look once the season starts. Jenkins could be running with the starters again next month. G Dakota Dozier was placed on IR in mid-June.

On June 13^th, the Bears signed DT Mike Pennel and released LB Jeremiah Attaochu. On June 21^st, the team signed CB Jayson Stanley. DE Robert Quinn was a no-show at OTAs/minicamp. Rookie CB Kyler Gordon was impressive during OTAs but missed minicamp with an injury. Rookie S Jaquan Brisker was outstanding during OTAs and minicamp. LB Matt Adams was arrested last night and charged with misdemeanor firearm possession.

End.