Chicago Bears – Minicamp Recap

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The Bears had their last mini-camp last week before training camp begins about a month from now. There were no major developments, but in case you missed it here is a recap of what went down.

– LS Patrick Mannelly retired after 16 years as the Bears long snapper. It was a heck of a run for Mannelly and he will be missed. His successor at long-snapper for the Bears will either be Brandon Hartson (2nd year, Houston) or Chad Rempel (rookie, Saskatchewan), whichever guy wins will have big shoes to fill. For more on Mannelly, check out Boomer’s post.

– TE Fendi Onobun was released. When the Bears didn’t sign any receiving tight ends this off-season I assumed that they had faith in Onobun winning the #2 TE  job, but I guess not as he was released this week. Apparently he still can’t catch.

– DE Israel Idonije was released. It’s sad to see Izzy go as he was one of my favorite Bears in his original stint with the team. He was always a hard worker and a good locker room guy, but when you reach a certain age things just don’t work the same and it seems like Izzy has reached that point. I hope he catches on somewhere, but I think he is probably done.

– QB Jerrod Johnson was released. The writing was on the wall that one of the QBs was on the way out when the Bears signed QB Jimmy Clauson. Johnson is an interesting prospect with a rare combination of speed and arm strength and if he’s not picked up he could end up on the practice squad again. The release of Johnson all but ensures that Jimmy Clauson will head to training camp with the Bears.