RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Bears veterans will report to Halas Hall for the start of training camp Tuesday. Team decision-makers, meanwhile, will have plenty of questions to answer in their annual report-date news conference.
Here are four pressing issues general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson face entering their second camp together:
How comfortable will Caleb Williams be?
For all the questions about his completion percentage — it was nowhere near Johnson’s stated goal of 70% last season — and a potential contract extension next offseason, Williams is facing a far more immediate obstacle during camp. He took every single snap from center Drew Dalman last season, then Dalman retired in March.
The Bears traded for center Garrett Bradbury, who played in the Super Bowl for the Patriots, weeks later. A month after that, they drafted Iowa center Logan Jones in the second round.
Johnson has said Bradbury will begin camp as the starter, stressing how hard the position is for rookies to learn. For Williams, however, either center represents a change he has to navigate. And Jones, not Bradbury, figures to be his center for the long haul.
Who will rush the passer?
The phrase ‘‘a motivated Dayo Odeyingbo’’ became a running social-media gag this offseason when Bears fans tried to rationalize why the team didn’t add a meaningful edge rusher via trade, free agency or the draft.
Signed to a three-year, $48 million deal a year ago, Odeyingbo had one sack in eight games before tearing his Achilles tendon. Starting camp healthy is a credit to his recovery. Now he’ll have to produce, whether it’s from end or, on passing downs, from tackle.
The rest of the edge-rusher rotation looks too similar to the disappointing two-deep of last season. Joey Bosa, Jadeveon Clowney and Brandon Graham are still available in free agency, but they’re role players, at best.
Do they trust Kyler Gordon?
Poles was the man who decided to make Gordon the highest-paid slot cornerback in NFL history in April 2025. But after injuries to his hamstring, calf and groin limited him to 11% of the Bears’ snaps last season, Gordon spent the offseason treating a soft-tissue problem. On Saturday, he was put on the physically unable-to-perform list.
Johnson’s growing frustration with Gordon’s injuries was evident last month.
‘‘We know he’s a good player when he’s out there,’’ Johnson said then. ‘‘But trust level is a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room. And you can only develop that trust by being available.’’
When he’s healthy, Gordon is the versatile weapon coordinator Dennis Allen badly needs in his defensive backfield. Gordon needs an outstanding season to justify his spot on the 2027 roster, though, The Bears can walk away from him in March for only a $5 million salary-cap charge.
What decisions will they make at tackle?
The Bears had so little faith in Ozzy Trapilo’s backups at left tackle last season that they started left guard Joe Thuney there in their playoff game against the Rams. With Trapilo set to miss most of the season, the Bears returned those same backups — Braxton Jones, Theo Benedet and Kiran Amegadjie — and added reclamation project Jedrick Wills to compete for the starting job. Jones is the favorite, as painful as that might be to some.
At the other tackle spot is a problem of a different sort. Darnell Wright, who emerged as one of the best right tackles in the NFL last season, is eligible for a contract extension. Wright and the Bears will continue to work on one during camp, likely with a Week 1 deadline.
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