Kalif Raymond Brings Old Lions Rivalry With Amon-Ra St. Brown to Bears Camp
The Chicago Bears are just over a month from kicking off their 2026 season, and training camp is already surfacing the small habits that separate the team’s new additions. One of those habits belongs to Kalif Raymond, the veteran wide receiver Chicago signed away from Detroit this offseason, who’s still trying to out-work a former teammate three states away.
Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune posted the detail on X: Raymond catches 205 passes off the JUGS machine after every practice, specifically because Amon-Ra St. Brown catches 202. Raymond, according to Hammond’s post, wants to stay ahead of his old Lions teammate even from a different locker room.
Bears veteran WR Kalif Raymond said he catches 205 passes on the JUGS machine after practice every day because Amon-Ra St. Brown catches 202 after every practice.
Raymond said he wants to stay ahead of his longtime teammate.
— Sean Hammond (@sean_hammond) August 6, 2026
It’s a small number, three extra reps, but it’s not a new bit. St. Brown’s JUGS routine dates back to his rookie year in Detroit, and Raymond picked it up not long after the two arrived together in 2021. They spent five seasons catching balls side by side after practice. Now they’re doing it in different states, and apparently keeping score.
Why Raymond Is in Chicago
Raymond signed a one-year deal with the Bears in March, reuniting him with head coach Ben Johnson, who coached him in Detroit as offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the deal is worth $5.1 million. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Raymond agreed to terms a day after fellow free agent Olamide Zaccheaus left for Atlanta, leaving Chicago thin at receiver depth behind its starters.
That depth question is part of why the signing made sense. Chicago traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills this offseason, clearing out one of Caleb Williams’ top targets from a season ago. What’s left is young: Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are entering their second NFL seasons, and neither has a long track record yet. Burden battled inconsistent playing time as a rookie, and Odunze dealt with injury.
Raymond doesn’t project as a No. 1 option. He’s never been that in his nine-year career. But he brings something Chicago’s receiver room was missing: a proven role player who knows Johnson’s offense from the inside and has been one of the most reliable hands in the league doing it. In four seasons under Johnson in Detroit, Raymond caught 147 passes for 1,896 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s also a two-time All-Pro punt returner who set Detroit’s career punt-return yardage record.
The Numbers Behind the Habit
| Player | Daily JUGS Reps | Years With Johnson in Detroit |
|---|---|---|
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 202 | 2021–2024 |
| Kalif Raymond | 205 | 2021–2024 |
The gap is three catches. It’s not going to show up in a box score, but it says something about why Johnson wanted Raymond in Chicago in the first place. Sure hands and extra reps were part of what made the Lions’ passing game so difficult to defend for four straight years, and Johnson is clearly hoping some of that same habit rubs off on a Bears receiver room that’s still figuring out its identity.
Williams, for his part, is entering a critical third season after a strong second year under Johnson in 2025. Every additional reliable target — even a depth piece with a training-camp routine this specific — matters for a quarterback trying to build consistency. Chicago opens its 2026 season on the road against the Carolina Panthers on September 13.
