Bears Roster Workouts Zach Banner.
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Veteran free-agent offensive tackle Zach Banner.
The Chicago Bears are evaluating some last-minute depth options for their roster before their 2025 season opener Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire, the Bears hosted former Pittsburgh Steelers veteran offensive tackle Zach Banner for a workout on Thursday along with 10 other free agents at a variety of positions, including defensive end and cornerback.
Banner has played 30 games at offensive tackle since coming into the league as a fourth-round pick in 2017 and has gargantuan size at 6-foot-8 and 358 pounds, but the 31-year-old has not played an NFL snap since 2021 despite several comeback attempts. He also played for the Houston Roughnecks during the 2025 UFL season in the spring.
The Bears are unlikely to sign Banner to their 53-man roster with five offensive tackles already in the mix between Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright, Ozzy Trapilo, Theo Benedet and Kiran Amegadjie, but they could potentially give him a role on their practice squad.
The Bears also worked out the following players: centers Wesley French and Trey Hill; cornerbacks Dallis Flowers, Deantre Prince and A.J. Woods; defensive ends Myles Cole and Isaiah Foskey; linebackers Curtis Jacobs and Alex Johnson; and tight end Hayden Harris.
Bears Also Eyeing Linebackers Amid T.J. Edwards Injury
The Bears are most likely just updating their records on available free agents with their recent batch of roster workouts, but their interest in linebackers stands out, given that starter T.J. Edwards is dealing with a hamstring injury that could sideline him for a bit.
Edwards did not participate in either of the Bears’ first two practices of the week, calling into question his availability for Monday Night Football against the Vikings in Week 1. While the 29-year-old has not missed a regular-season game since January 2022, the Bears must have a backup plan in place in case they cannot clear him for kickoff.
If Edwards does not suit up, the Bears will need to lean more heavily on Noah Sewell and fourth-round rookie Ruben Hyppolite II at linebacker against the Vikings. Sewell impressed the new coaching staff during last month’s training camp, but he has played just 32 defensive snaps in his career, while Hyppolite has yet to play his first NFL game.
Bears Still Monitoring Other Injuries Ahead of Week 1
Edwards is one of the most important names on the Bears’ injury report ahead of their first game of the 2025 season, but his injury is not the only one they are monitoring.
The Bears have also held out running back Roschon Johnson from all practice activities through the first two sessions in Week 1. The 2023 fourth-round pick missed a sizeable chunk of camp and sat out the entire preseason with his injury, which has cast doubt on both his availability against the Vikings and the team’s running back depth, as a whole.
To make matters worse, seventh-round rookie running back Kyle Monangai is also still on the injury report. While he has practiced both days this week as a limited participant and seems to have a better shot than Johnson at playing against the Vikings, his injury could prompt the Bears to sign more depth to the position before their opening night.
The only other two limited participants in Friday’s practice were cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Josh Blackwell, both of whom are working back from groin injuries. The Bears upgraded Blackwell from a non-participant on Thursday to a limited participant on Friday, but they could hold both him and Johnson to a snap count in Week 1 — if they play at all — given how much time both cornerbacks have missed recently.
The Bears will host the Vikings at Soldier Field for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff on Monday.