Bears rookie Zavion Thomas offers honest reaction to long TD vs. Titans

As a reflection of his roster status and importance, Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas did not play in either of the first two preseason games. But he did suit up for the preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans, and he had a nice outing with five catches for 140 yards and 61 combined return yards.

The highlight of Thomas' night came on the Bears' first offensive play. Quarterback Tyson Bagent connected with him on a 97-yard touchdown, and the rookie was basically gone for the score as soon as he caught the ball, thanks to a diabolical double move that undressed Titans cornerback Keydrain Calligan.

Defensive backs have to respect Thomas' sub-4.3 speed. He might have beaten Calligan down the sideline without that stop-and-go route, but a bit of savvy route-running created a gulf of space most defenders would not be able to close.

According to Next Gen Stats, Thomas hit he fastest max speed for a ball carrier this preseason on the play; 21.99 MPH.

The end zone angle shows Bears head coach Ben Johnson knowing Thomas was gone by the time he crossed the 50-yard line (if not sooner).

Zavion Thomas offers light-hearted yet cold-blooded response to highlight reel TD vs. Titans

Thomas and Bagent spoke to the media after the game against the Titans. Of course, Bagent had a detailed breakdown of the touchdown when asked about it, getting into the coverage Tennessee shifted to and the "mirror double move" route concepts the Bears had on each side of the formation.

Bagent noted Thomas' speed as a "big reason why he's here" and how he'd have been surprised if the speedy rookie had been tackled.

Thomas calmly said he expected to score when he caught the ball. He added that he was locked in on the end zone and more than aware of who was chasing him.

But did whoever was chasing him have any chance to catch him?

"Nah, he didn't have a chance," Thomas said, with a smile on his face.

Thomas could've been more political about the chances anyone in the Titans' secondary could've caught him on the play by saying something like "I don't know" or "We'll never know." But nope, he went right for it to say what he said, which was the truth, by the way. No one is catching someone who has his kind of speed when they're running like he was.

Read more: Ryan Poles offloaded a big potential headache with Gervon Dexter trade

More importantly, whatever Thomas' rookie season role looks like, he officially announced his arrival as another weapon for the Bears' offense.

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