Summer series: Chicago Bears

By: Josh Frey-Sam

These days feel different in Chicago.

Yes, they are the off-season champions for the third year in a row (that moniker lost its ring last year), but there’s a sentiment that the hometown Bears can finally carry that momentum into the fall.

Welcome to the Back Bacon Brief summer series, where I talk to a local media member from all 32 NFL teams to get an all-encompassing preview about each club heading into the 2025-26 season

Today, we look at the Chicago Bears, and I spoke with beat writer Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson on X) to find out everything going on in the Windy City.

You can listen to the full interview here.

The Bears’ off-season success began with the hiring of first-year bench boss Ben Johnson and the rest of his coaching staff, who have rejuvenated the organization.

“It’s been refreshing so far under Ben Johnson,” Pearson said. “Last year, it was so turbulent, firing (offensive co-ordinator) Shane Waldron within the first month of the season, firing (head coach) Matt Eberflus, watching them lose games that they should have won or were in… it was such a frustrating season, not only for the players but for us to cover.”

“It’s kind of been a new energy in the building,” Pearson added. “There’s a lot of excitement, and rightfully so. They were the off-season winners; they had a really good off-season, so they deserve to have that excitement.”

The Bears spent more than $149 million in free agency this spring, the 10th most of any team, but their most important player was already in-house.

All eyes will be on Caleb Williams in Year 2, and frankly, there’s no excuse for him not to take a sophomore jump. The offensive line is revamped, there are weapons galore, and now he has a brilliant play caller in his ear.

Johnson said his coaching staff was going to work from the ground up with everything, including the quarterback position. Pearson argued that that likely meant Johnson identified several mechanical issues in Williams’ game, and that they were going to correct that before anything else. Williams also wanted to improve footwork in particular.

“I think it’s the accuracy — deep down the field — I think it’s the accuracy overall. I think it’s taking those short checkdowns and taking what the defence gives you. We saw last year there were times where I think he tried to force it down the field, he didn’t want to take the quick checkdowns,” Pearson said.

“In terms of Caleb on his own, we did notice that it’s his left foot that is forward now when he’s taking the snap and dropping back, which is a change. I want to say it was his right foot last year. In college, it was a little bit of a mixture.”

Something interesting that Pearson noted was that the Bears wanted to add another running back in the draft. They liked Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson, and he would’ve been the pick at 39th overall had the New England Patriots not selected him at 38, but they settled with Luther Burden III.

Henderson was the closest thing to Jahmyr Gibbs in this draft, so that would’ve been fun to watch.

Staying with the offence, perhaps the most exciting weapon will be rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who Pearson said could play a versatile role while the Bears line him up all over the field.

He’s expected to be a feature in this offence.

“I hope so, because they took him No. 10, so you really gotta have something,” he said. “With Colston Loveland, drafting him at No. 10, he has to be their lead tight end eventually, and I think he’ll have a bigger role this year. I think he’ll have a bigger role than Cole Kmet.”

The defence was one of the worst against the run last season, but there has been an emphasis placed on shoring up that area through free agency and the draft. It’s a great mix of young and veteran players at every level, and all of a sudden, there doesnt appear to be many weaknesses on this side of the ball.

“The hiring of Dennis Allen was probably the best move, I thought, they made,” he said. “He’s going to do some fun things with this defence, and they have probably one of the best secondaries in the league… I think that defence can carry them.”

It all starts in the trenches, where the Bears will field a revamped defensive front, led by edge rushers Dayo Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat.

The Bears traded for Sweat in 2023, then gave him a four-year, $98 million extension. This off-season, they gave him a new running mate in Odeyingbo, who left the Indianapolis Colts for a three-year, $48 million deal.

While both players are extremely talented — Sweat was a first-round pick; Odeyingbo was a second-round selection — there is still an element of unknown about both of them, and Pearson believes they still have a lot to prove.

“If those two guys struggle, they’re going to be in big, big trouble. It’s not that I’m not high on those two, it’s just with Dayo I gotta see it, and with Montez I’m more comfortable, but who else is going to be able to rush the passer? That’s kind of the biggest question,” he said.

Looking ahead to training camp, Pearson has his eyes on a few key position battles.

The obvious one is at left tackle, where incumbent Braxton Jones, a fourth-year pro, will look to fight off rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo for the starting job.

Then there is the battle for WR3, behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. There is a quartet of options to fill that spot, including rookie Luther Burden III. However, Pearson noted he thinks the Bears are going to operate out of 12 personnel a lot this season, which could mean we see rookie Colston Loveland act as that third WR.

The final key camp battle is for the third linebacker spot, alongside Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards in base defence. Pearson said that Johnson has hinted at third-year pro Noah Sewell having the inside track for that job.

We ended our conversation with the following question: over or under 7.5 wins for the Bears in 2025?

Pearson leaned with the over, saying he sees eight wins this season, but he thinks Vegas has set a good line. One thing of note for Chicago bettors this season — their road schedule is treacherous.

Trips to Detroit, Las Vegas, Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Green Bay and San Francisco await.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh