LAKE FOREST, Ill. – DJ Moore has always been good at gaining yards after the catch. Significant sums of his total offense come after he secures possession. Why? The veteran Bears receiver is both slippery and a tackle breaker.

Ben Johnson wants to maximize that strength. And, in no shock whatsoever, the Bears head coach/offensive mastermind is getting creative trying to do so.

That’s why fans attending open padded practices on Monday and Tuesday have seen Moore lining up all over the place. He has been in standard locations, out wide, and in the slot.

He has also lined up in the backfield, taking handoffs and other innovative things from that spot.

“We’re exploring some things,” Johnson said in a Tuesday morning press conference. “I think what I’ve seen on tape and what I’ve come to learn about DJ is he’s a physical, run after catch, just get me the ball type of guy. Whether that’s in the backfield, whether that’s screens, I think he had a nice go route the other day. There’s a number of things that we’re looking to do and explore to how do we get him the ball and get him in space. We’re tinkering with that a little bit. Yesterday, you saw he’s really receptive to it.”

It sure seems that way. Moore has made explosive plays down the field and with the ball essentially given to him. They’ll continue to experiment with a player offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said has a skill set unlike anyone else on the depth chart.

Capitalizing on that will be key, though exactly how remains uncertain to the player and the coaches designing opportunities for him. It’s something to keep an eye on moving forward and into the regular season, as Moore will be a featured player in this offense, no matter how many talented skill players are currently here.

Burden a ‘bit behind’

Rookie receiver Luther Burden’s rep count increased to include team drills on Tuesday, just his second practice since returning from a soft tissue injury that kept him out for a prolonged stretch.

Johnson admitted before the session that Burden has an uphill climb after missing so much time.

“It shows up already,” Johnson said. “We were in the walkthrough yesterday afternoon, and the misalignments, we had to re-huddle. We had to start it all over again. He’s a little bit behind right now.”

That was apparent on Tuesday, when Johnson pulled him from a rep after an alignment or motion mistake. Olamide Zaccheaus was inserted and the play was executed well. That doesn’t mean Johnson was mad; he just didn’t want to waste time fixing it in the middle of a practice.

Burden’s athleticism is clear as a route runner – he made a nice catch working with Tyson Bagent — but he’ll need to catch up learning and executing the offense to Johnson’s standard to perform as he’s able.

Injury update

The Bears largely avoided recent injury scares, with players returning quickly from practice ailments. Reserve center Doug Kramer Jr. returned from a leg injury Tuesday after just one practice out.

Defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon was back in action a day after leaving the practice field on a cart with an apparent hand/wrist injury. That’s a positive sign for a player new to the Bears who could be an important reserve behind Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo.

Guard Bill Murray wasn’t at Tuesday’s practice after experiencing an apparent leg/ankle issue on Monday that caused him to get re-taped.

Defensive lineman Shemar Turner (ankle) and defensive back Zah Frazier (personal) remain out of practice.

Practice notes

HC Ben Johnson said we’d hear the pads popping on Tuesday. That was in fact the case. There was even a point in practice where the Bears went live. That doesn’t happen often these days, and often just with the lower units, but the first team was involved in this small stretch. DT Andrew Billings delivered the biggest hit, enveloping RB D’Andre Swift on a run play.

The practice was super run-heavy, with lots of work between the tackles. Swift had some tough runs inside and out. Rookie RB Kyle Monangai was productive but also took some serious pops from the defensive front. CB Kyler Gordon had an excellent pass defensed versus DJ Moore and blew up a screen, during a solid day overall.

The Bears offense has been good in two-minute drills, but Tuesday’s was ineffective and resulted in a turnover on downs following a third-down pass to WR Devin Duvernay that ended up well short of the sticks.

QB Caleb Williams was better on Tuesday, with some trademark throws and evasive moves in the backfield, but the offense remains inconsistent to this point. Johnson sees improvement and comfort running the offense and all he’s asked to do within it.

“His process is really clean right now,” Johnson said. “I’m talking about how he’s preparing. I’m really pleased with it. He’s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing, and we’re starting to see the dividends being paid from it.”

The left tackles continued to rotate in with the first team, as part of a trend that has carried on throughout camp. Johnson doesn’t want to set a timetable on declaring the starting left tackle, but understands the starting five needs time to gel before the regular season begins.