Bears kick off annual rookie minicamp at Halas Hall

Chicago Bears
08 May 2026, 19:43 GMT+10

Gabby Hajduk

More than 50 pro prospects arrived at Halas Hall Thursday afternoon for the start of the Bears' annual rookie minicamp, most of whom entered the facility for the first time.

The group consisted of seven draft picks, 13 undrafted free agents, 24 rookie tryout players, five first-year players and five veteran tryout players.

While the group will hit the practice fields Friday and Saturday, their first day at facility consisted of posing for their first ever NFL headshot, meeting with various football operations departments, including athletic training, equipment, strength and high-performance and meeting both their fellow minicamp teammates and Bears coaches.

"It's been fun," third-round pick Zavion Thomas, a receiver from LSU, said. "It's a blessing just being able to be in this position, live out a childhood dream. I'm at a great organization. It's been a good time meeting my new teammates, new brothers, players that I'm gonna go to war with on Sunday, so I'm just blessed."

"It definitely feels surreal being here," fifth-round draft pick, Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, said. "I've never even been out to Chicago, so it's cool to see the city and once you get inside the building, just to see how everything operates, and meet the people and begin understanding the culture that's going on in this building."

For the group of rookies, the two weeks since the NFL Draft leading up to rookie minicamp have been a whirlwind of emotions and a period of preparation as they gear up to start their NFL journeys. In Elliott's case, he spent most of his time between the draft and minicamp being with his family in Richmond, Missouri.

"It's been really cool," Elliott said of the past couple of weeks. "I got to spend it with my family, so that's probably the biggest thing. I was blessed to have them with me. So it's just a lot of excitement. I'm from a really small town, so anywhere I go, it's everybody's congratulating me and telling me how proud they are of me."

While the circumstances surrounding joining the Bears were slightly different for undrafted rookies, their excitement level is just as high. Kennesaw State running back Coleman Bennett, who signed with the Bears after the draft, expressed his eagerness to get to his new team's facility, begin meeting everyone in the organization and showcase his talents on the field.

"After the draft, it was just real emotional," Bennett said. "I was just excited, overly excited, and tremendously blessed to be able to get the opportunity to be able to play for this organization. I've really just been working out, spending my last time with my family, my friends before I leave, and just make sure I'm in the best shape and have the best mentality going into rookie minicamp.

"I'm big on firsts when you first meet somebody, how you communicate, how you play, so that's very important. So I want to come in here and leave a great first impression not just on the field, but off the field. How I am in meetings, the type of leader I am, the type of person I am. I just want the coaches to know that I'm somebody that could play on the field as well as be a great teammate in the locker room and be a coachable player."

Bennett enters the league with a strong understanding of what it will take to make an NFL roster come fall, having learned from his father, Donnell Jr., who spent several years as a fullback for Kansas City and Washington. Since Bennett began playing tackle football at nine years old, his father has consistently instilled football knowledge in his son while also providing him advice about the business aspect of the NFL as well as the value of being a professional in every aspect of both football and life.

The Bennetts' father-son relationship really came full circle Thursday when Coleman walked into the Bears' locker room for the first time and saw he had been randomly assigned No. 30, the same number that Donnell Jr. wore.

"I saw that jersey in my locker and immediately took a picture, sent it to my family group chat with my three brothers and both my parents. I sent it in there and I was just like, 'This is crazy.' And then when I called my mom a little while after, she was like, 'It was 30 years ago that your dad had number 30.' So that was really cool."

Over the course of the next two days, all 54 players will have an equal opportunity to showcase what makes them an NFL-caliber player on the practice field, in meeting rooms and around the building.

"I just want to show everyone that I'm a player that they can rely on and I can do more than just my job," Elliott said. "I can help people out around me as well."

"Just being able to showcase my talents," Thomas said about the opportunity this weekend. "Just letting them know that I'm the guy that they're looking for. I'm the guy that they think they drafted and more."

Here are the players who are scheduled to participate in the rookie minicamp:

Draft picks (7):