Chicago Bears: Ben Johnson praises rookie pass-rusher, notes Bengals concern

The Chicago Bears are open to finding pass-rushing help from anywhere on the roster, and one player made his case to get an extra look before the team’s second preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 22.

Third-year defensive end Jamree Kromah recorded six tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery in the Bears’ 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Kromah signed with the Bears out of James Madison as a rookie free agent in 2024.

He spent time with the New England Patriots in 2024 before rejoining the Bears on the practice squad last year.

During his postgame news conference, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Kromah has made notable improvements since OTAs. Chicago put an emphasis on technique this spring, and it’s paying off for Kromah.

“It’s something you see in the springtime,” Johnson said. “The new techniques that we’re coaching with, and he’s flashing. And yet it’s like, ‘Is this the time he’s going to turn it on?’ And you don’t know. Then you go into a game like this, and you see the get off, you see the relentlessness. You could feel his presence every single snap.

“I’m standing close to the D-lineman, and they’re hooting and hollering and cheering for him because they’re as excited as he is because they’re seeing him going out there and making plays and making an impact like that. He’s such a hard worker. I know he’s been in the program now for a minute, and to see him have some success on the field like that, that was huge.”

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While the preseason opener against the Browns was good for younger players on the roster, Johnson noted that next week will be big for his starters. Chicago will have two joint practices with the Bengals, which will give quarterback Caleb Williams and some of the players who sat out on Saturday a chance to compete with Cincinnati’s first-team.

Johnson noted that next week was critical for the Bears to find out what they have as a roster before Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.

“I think our defense is going to continue to get better because they’re facing a clean unit as well,” Johnson said. “We’ll see what it looks like going against a couple of new opponents.

“I’m excited to go down to Cincinnati, and they’ve got a lot of new talent on defense that we’re going to have to be on our Ps and Qs if we want to have success against them. That to me is going to help us really shape where we’re at as an offense right now.”

And for the defense, the Bears can gauge what their passing defense looks like against Joe Burrow and a talented receiver corps.

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