The Chicago Bears were back at Halas Hall for another training camp practice, where they hosted the Miami Dolphins for a joint practice ahead of Sunday’s preseason opener. And it was entertaining to say the least.
The Bears defense absolutely dominated the Dolphins in this intense, padded workout. Whether it was big hits, turnovers or sacks, Chicago brought it to Miami’s offense. Meanwhile, it was an up-and-down day for quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears starting offense, as they continued to deal with pre-snap issues. Williams had some nice throws and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus had an impressive day. At one point, Dolphins defenders were fighting Dolphins defenders. It was certainly a notable practice.
Let’s recap the Bears‘ joint practice with the Dolphins:
What we learned
- Safety Kevin Byard said the defense wanted to set the tone early in Friday’s joint practice against the Dolphins, and that’s exactly what they did. The Bears defense was dominant throughout practice, which 79th & Halas Podcast described as “straight up domination.” According to Joe Schad, Tagovailoa had thrown one interception all of camp. On Friday, he was picked off three times by this Chicago defense, which included safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, as well as linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
- While Chicago’s defense was dominant throughout practice, it was more of an up-and-down day for Ben Johnson’s offense. Quarterback Caleb Williams had some nice throws, including several to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, as well as tight end Colston Loveland. But there were some familiar struggles, including pre-snap issues (more on that below), as well as incompletions and sacks. And things didn’t start well for Williams, who was intercepted by Jordyn Brooks, per David Furones, on the first throw of team drills on a pass intended for tight end Cole Kmet.
- During the red-zone drill, the offense was dominated by Miami’s defense, where Matt Zahn noted “Caleb Williams appeared to hold the ball a little long on at least one of the plays.” He was sacked multiple times on an “uneven day” for the unit. The Bears also struggled during the first move-the-ball drill — “where they didn’t move the ball much” and had a sack, per Zack Pearson — but they bounced back on the ensuing drill with “a couple short, quick throws.” Meanwhile, during one-on-one drills, the Bears receivers dominated the Dolphins defensive backs. According to Furones, “Bears receivers whipped Dolphins cornerbacks in 1-on-1s” where “most of the incompletions were flags.”
- One of the lingering issues that we seem to be hearing about on a daily basis is the offense’s struggles with pre-snap penalties. That continued against the Dolphins, where 79th & Halas Podcast noted there were issues with false starts and delay of games. According to Greg Braggs, quarterback Caleb Williams had back-to-back false start penalties during 11-on-11, where he “couldn’t get the timing down with Cole in motion presnap” on the second penalty. During the first move-the-ball drill, the drive was derailed by a false start.
- It isn’t a joint practice if there isn’t some kind of dust up, right? Surprisingly, the first scuffle of practice came on special teams. According to Omar Kelly, “Jonathan Owens and Cornell Armstrong got into a shoving match when Armstrong was doing his gunner work.” Per Patrick Finley, there were a lot of guys who ran in and some shoving. But the biggest scuffle of the day came later when safety Kevin Byard was going at it with receiver Dee Eskridge, and Tyrique Stevenson went at Eskridge and “those two sides had to be separated,” per Chris Emma. At one point, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel had to step in to break it up, where according to Jason Lieser, the “skirmish got big enough that Mike McDaniel sprinted in and started shoving players away from each other.” Stevenson was pulled for his extra curriculars but later rejoined the defense. But the most notable one didn’t involve the Bears at all.
- But the fights weren’t contained to just Bears vs. Dolphins. At one point, Dolphins were fighting Dolphins, which showcased the frustration they felt throughout practice. According to Jason Lieser, there were a pair of Dolphins players “fighting and swinging at amongst themselves on the sideline after a play.” Overall, it was a rough day for Miami. Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions (two more than he had all camp), running back Alexander Mattison fumbled twice and head coach Mike McDaniel had to break up a fight between Bears safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and Dolphins wide receiver Dee Eskridge. The frustration was evident, which means it was a good day for the Bears.
- The Bears left tackle competition is far from over, but it entered a crucial point in Friday’s joint practice. Braxton Jones got the first crack with the starters during team drills, and rookie Ozzy Trapilo eventually rotated in. At one point, even last year’s “Hard Knocks” star Theo Benedet got reps with the starters in place of an injured Kiran Amegadjie. Before Friday’s practice, head coach Ben Johnson said Jones, Trapilo and Benedet will rotate at left tackle during Sunday’s preseason game against Miami. Johnson also noted Amegadjie is “missing some quality reps” while being sidelined with a leg injury. But the hope is they get him back “sooner rather than later.”
Standouts
- Bears starting defense: The Bears defense “played physical, and pass rush gave Dolphins issues,” according to Alex Shapiro which included “plenty of sacks and throwaways.” Chris Emma added that the Bears were “flying to the football, playing with energy and challenging the Dolphins.” Chicago forced three interceptions of Tua Tagovailoa — from safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, as well as linebacker Tremaine Edmunds — which is two more than what he’d thrown all summer. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was giving Mike McDaniel’s unit fits, and it’s hard not to be encouraged.
- WR Olamide Zaccheaus: On a day where the defense dominated the Dolphins, Zaccheaus was the biggest star on offense. Zaccheaus had a “really strong practice,” per Zack Pearson, which included an impressive one-handed grab from Williams and a 70-yard touchdown from Williams, where Zaccheaus ran the last 30 yards. Marc Silverman had high praise for Zaccheaus, said he “has been simply spectacular in every practice I’ve seen this camp. He simply does his job and does it well.” The 79th & Halas Podcast noted Williams has been building chemistry with Zaccheaus this summer, and “I think he can be the same safety blanket to Caleb that he was for Jayden Daniels last season.”
Injury updates
As far as injuries go, right tackle Darnell Wright was back on the practice field after leaving Thursday’s practice with an apparent injury. But cornerback Kyler Gordon, while on the sideline, wasn’t in pads and didn’t participate. During practice, defensive tackle Andrew Billings came up limping after a run play. While he was sidelined for a bit, he did ultimately return to the field.
Highlights
Movin’ and groovin’ 🕺 pic.twitter.com/VI6bN8sQs5
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 9, 2025
.@KevinByard snagged that 🤲 pic.twitter.com/vTHE5YImTz
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 8, 2025
Let ’em know, @colstonlovelan1 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/YNRip44poP
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 8, 2025
Press conferences
What’s next
The Bears have an off day before they host the Dolphins for their preseason opener Sunday at 12 p.m. CT at Soldier Field.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Recapping Chicago Bears’ joint practice with Miami Dolphins
