RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Battles for roster spots are one of the more dramatic parts of training camp, and there will be a flurry of activity for the Bears on Sunday as they narrow the team from 90 players to 53 by the 5 p.m. deadline, but the top of the roster matters a lot more than the bottom.
While there always are players like wide receiver Jahdae Walker, who made the cut last summer and came up big months later with the tying touchdown catch in the final minute against the Packers, the players whose jobs were locked in from the start are the ones who will decide how far the Bears go.
Most of them didn’t dress for the final preseason game Saturday night against the Titans as Bears coach Ben Johnson prioritized health with an eye on the Sept. 13 opener at the Panthers.
The outlook on the Bears’ top talent was bleak when Ryan Poles came aboard as general manager in 2022, which is why the job was open. Predecessor Ryan Pace left him little upon which to build, and the Bears basically started from scratch.
Worse than scratch, really, considering Pace also left behind a salary-cap mess and a draft-capital deficit.
It was silly that the Bears needed former executive Bill Polian to come in and tell them how bad things were, but he made a valid point in saying Pace's roster was light on elite players, or “blue-chippers,” as he called them. He estimated they had 6-8, though realistically the number proved to be half that.
Pace’s undoing was primarily a combination of striking out at quarterback and failing to stock the roster with young players on a path to stardom.
Poles is entering a critical phase in evaluating whether Caleb Williams is a franchise quarterback after progress last season but significant steps still ahead. His choices throughout the rest of the lineup, though, have given the Bears a shot to compete.
Those pieces stand taller on offense, where the Bears jumped from last in the league in 2024 to sixth last season under Johnson, who influenced the acquisitions of several blue-chip pieces.
The offensive line, long a vulnerability under Pace, has a future Hall of Famer in left guard Joe Thuney and Pro Bowl-caliber players in their 20s in right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright.
Tight end Colston Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick last season, led the team in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown catches as a rookie. He has been an absolute monster in training camp and is a popular pick to be one of the NFL’s best at his position.
Don’t forget running back D’Andre Swift, either. He was the Bears’ consolation prize when bidding got too high for Saquon Barkley in 2024, but has turned out to be an ideal weapon. He has averaged more than 1,000 yards per season over the last three and is coming off the best performance of his career: 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns.
Swift has been so good — plus, his role could expand this season — that the Bears could consider a contract extension. He’s entering the final season of a deal that has paid an average of $8 million per season, which ranks 19th at his position.
Defensively, the Bears know what they have in cornerback Jaylon Johnson and defensive end Montez Sweat. Those are stars any team would want.
They believe they’ll get that level of play out of rookie safety Dillon Thieneman, a first-rounder who was the second player picked at his position, but draft pedigree doesn’t guarantee anything. The Bears will have to see how much and how quickly he progresses throughout this season.
They could reasonably classify safety Coby Bryant and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon as blue-chip players, but they don’t have either of them at the moment. Bryant will miss most or all of this season with a knee injury, and Gordon’s health is a total unknown.
Gordon missed 14 games last season with three injuries and has been out most of the offseason with a new one. One of the most interesting decisions the Bears actually face is whether to put him on the active roster to start the season.
The Bears have other players who could move into the blue-chip tier, such as Williams and wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, but they need to show indisputable evidence.
Poles eventually nailed the coaching hire by landing Ben Johnson after three brutal seasons of Matt Eberflus, and a lot of the Bears’ hope in player development hinges on him.
Is Johnson’s system enough to turn no-names into quality pieces? Is he adept at solving problems on the defensive side even though he’s an offensive-minded coach? Those are questions he’ll have to answer this season.
But Poles has given him a solid enough place to start, and the Bears have far more GM-coach cohesion than they’ve had in a long time.
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