Ben Johnson voiced some concerns about the Chicago Bears' Luther Burden III, who was the team's second-round pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Bears selected Burden No. 39 overall with the desire to add him to a receiving corps that can benefit from his skillset. However, he has been absent from the team's activities since May as he is dealing with a soft tissue injury. This kept him out of veteran voluntary minicamp and mandatory minicamp.

Johnson talked about Burden's struggles during one of Chicago's practices, per ChiCitySports. He understands the importance of a rookie who might get plenty of reps in 2025 to be available, but the injury is holding him back significantly.

“He misses a lot,” Johnson said of Burden. “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 got to be out there; they got to see you do it. They got to know that the guy right, left of them, that they’re going to do the right things and they’re going to make the plays when called upon.”

What's next for Ben Johnson, Bears

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It's reasonable for Ben Johnson to have worry about one of the Bear's promising rookies in Luther Burden III.

Burden had an excellent career with the Missouri Tigers after three seasons from 2022 to 2024. After 38 games, he made 192 catches for 2,263 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also made nine carries for 115 yards and two scores.

It will be crucial for the Bears' offense to be as healthy as possible. They will enter Year 2 of having quarterback Caleb Williams lead the unit, making it imperative for Burden to fully recover from the injury and gain chemistry with his teammate.

The Bears will seek their first playoff appearance since the 2020 season. They went 5-12 in 2024, finishing at the bottom of the NFC North Division.