(Photo: 247Sports)
After all of these moves take place, the Bears would head into training camp with around $10 million in cap space with only 12 roster spots available, which could be filled by undrafted free agents. Some areas of the roster that could use more depth for training camp include the offensive line, wide receiver, safety and defensive tackle. Additionally, the Bears could look to bring in additional competition for Cairo Santos at kicker.
Here is how the depth charts for the offense and defense break down.
WR TE LT LG C RG RT TE WR WR
Luther Burden Cole Kmet Ozzy Trapilo* Joe Thuney Drew Dalman Jonah Jackson Darnell Wright Colston Loveland Christian Kirk Rome Odunze
Jahdae Walker Durham Smythe Braxton Jones Jordan McFadden Luke Newman Beau Stephens Theo Benedet Carsen Ryan Devin Duvernay Eric McAlister
Maurice Alexander Qadier Ismail Kiran Amegdajie Stephen Carlson JP Richardson
Nikola Kalinic
QB RB
Caleb Williams D'Andre Swift Roschon Johnson
Tyson Bagent Kyle Monangai Brittain Brown
Case Keenum Travis Homer Deion Hankins
Projected 2026 Chicago Bears Offense Depth Chart
* Indicates player who will likely start the season on injured reserve.
On offense, the roster looks largely similar to last year's unit, with the one major change coming at wide receiver. Instead of Moore completing the trifecta at wide receiver, Kirk comes in as a slot receiver with some explosive play ability. McAlister also adds additional size to the position and will compete with Jahdae Walker for the fourth spot in the rotation. This position group, on paper, is a downgrade compared to last season, but could benefit from Burden and Odunze having bigger roles in the offense now that Moore is out of the picture.
In this scenario, the Bears would likely rely more on 12 personnel, which puts a lot of focus on Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet in the passing game. Heading into next season, Loveland should absolutely be treated as the number one option in the passing game and I expect Johnson to fully embrace that next season.
Along the offensive line, the one question mark for the unit is once again at left tackle. When healthy, Trapilo is the clear-cut starter, but it's likely that he may not even be healthy enough to play at all in 2026. This puts the onus on Jones to be the starter in the short term, who should be healthier than he was in 2025. In the event that Jones gets hurt, Theo Benedet has shown that he is capable of stepping up in a pinch and the Bears always have the option of kicking Thuney out to left tackle if things get desperate enough. Ultimately, the goal for this season should be to survive at left tackle until Trapilo can get back healthy and solidify this position long-term.
The backfield remains the same, as the duo of D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai will try to replicate what they did last season. At quarterback, Caleb Williams has a chance to build off his strong sophomore campaign and establish himself as a potentially elite quarterback in 2026. In his second year of the system and relative stability with the roster around him, he has the chance to take big strides in year three.
CB DE DT DT DE Slot CB CB
Jaylon Johnson Montez Sweat Gervon Dexter Grady Jarrett Maxx Crosby Kyler Gordon Tyrique Stevenson
Zah Frazier Dayo Odeyingbo* Shemar Turner David Onyemata Austin Booker CJ Gardner Johnson Hezekiah Masses
Terrell Smith Dani Dennis-Sutton Gracen Halton Dominique Hampton Jonathan Garvin Josh Blackwell Dontae Manning
Dallis Flowers Jeremiah Martin LB LB
TJ Edwards Leo Chenal
S D'Marco Jackson Bryce Boettcher S
Kevin Byard Noah Sewell* Ruben Hyppolite Kamari Ramsey
VJ Payne Amen Ogbongbemiga Nephi Sewell Elijah Hicks
Gervarrius Owens
Projected 2026 Chicago Bears Defense Depth Chart
*Indicates player who will likely start the season on injured reserve.
Defensively, I am projecting that the Bears will have three new starters and multiple new contributors.
The defensive line sees a massive upgrade with the addition of Crosby, turning this unit from one of the worst in the NFL to a top-half of the league unit. The additions of Onyemata, Halton and Dennis-Sutton also improve the depth of the defensive line, allowing for the Bears to go potentially eight to nine deep up front. The defensive tackle room is still a relative weakness, but it should be made up for by the gains made on the edge. The Bears will also hope to get anything out of Shemar Turner and Dayo Odeyingbo, with both having the ability to play inside or outside. Odeyingbo will likely start the year on injured reserve, however, as he recovers from a torn Achilles.
At linebacker, this position essentially swaps out Tremaine Edmunds for Leo Chenal. Chenal should improve the run defense right away while still being solid in coverage, although he isn't as versatile as Edmunds was at times as a cover player. The big question will come with the play of TJ Edwards, who is coming off an injury-riddled season. It's possible that he may not be the same player he was previously. Behind the two starters, the Bears will feature a lot of speed at the linebacker position, with D'Marco Jackson coming off the bench as the primary cover linebacker in certain situations.
In the secondary, the Bears will have to replace the production of Jaquan Brisker and Nahshon Wright, who are leaving in free agency for this scenario. Ramsey is a different style of player at safety to replace Brisker, and would bring more versatility in coverage. At cornerback, the hope is that Tyrique Stevenson can be extra motivated in a contract year with competition behind him. The big thing for this group will be health, as the Bears had to deal with injuries all year long in 2025. If Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon can stay healthy and play up to their standards, this should be a good secondary once again.
All-in-all, there are a lot of avenues that the Bears can take to improve the roster and make a Super Bowl push. This scenario is just one of many. Time will tell what the Bears ultimately do when the offseason rolls around, but regardless of what path they take, there is a lot to be excited about as we look forward to next season.