Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
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Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears may have poach the wrong player for the 2026-27 season, according to one NFL analyst.
Ben Johnson has already proven himself to the Chicago Bears in his first years as head coach of the team, as he took the franchise from the bottom to the top of the NFC North during the 2025-26 season. But, one of his moves during the NFL offseason is getting mixed reviews.
The Bears fell to the Los Angeles Rams, in a 20-17 final score, in the postseason, ending their dream of going all the way for the 2025-26 season. After the game, Johnson was emotional, and it was obvious he was going to make changes going forward.
“Our guys fought the entire way, just like they have all season long. I thought this was very much like our team has been, and you’ve got to give the Rams credit… they ended up making a couple more plays than we did. That’s why it ended up going into overtime and they ended up coming out on top,” Johnson told reporters after the loss. “Like I said, disappointing result. Our guys are feeling it right now.”
He also said that the team “all believed, man. They all believed all year long that we could find a way to win each and every week. So it’s disappointing like that. But I am proud of the group.”
Now, Johnson has added a player from a rival team to the squad, but he’s getting some questions on it.
Ben Johnson May Have Poached the Wrong Detroit Lions Player
Now, this criticism is coming from Andrew Hughes, a Detroit Lions beat reporter, so take that into account. But, on Saturday, March 28, the reporter published a piece about why Johnson may have poached the wrong Lions player. In the piece, he says that the Lions poaching Kalif Raymond “feels flat.”
“It definitely would’ve made more sense for the Bears to have poached Raymond from the Lions had Dan Campbell not found a new play caller in Drew Petzing, whom Campbell is handing off full autonomy to,” he notes in the piece. “Raymond doesn’t have any familiarity with the playbook, only offering a glimpse into Detroit’s locker room culture.”
He adds, “That isn’t exactly nothing, but that won’t swing any of the two regular-season games against the Lions in Chicago’s favor this fall. Not when Dortch is probably an upgrade as a return specialist, who could factor more heavily into the passing game.”
So, while the Chicago Bears have made solid moves during the NFL offseason, this may not be one of them, at least according to Hughes.
Ben Johnson Calls the 2025-26 Chicago Bears a ‘Special Group’
But, Johnson has already called his team special, and now, Raymond will be part of that.
“It’s a special group,” Johnson said after the team’s final game of the season in January. “I said that a few weeks ago. I believe that to my core, that when you’re with a group of men for the last time in the locker room and you know it’s just not going to be the same going forward that — I appreciate all of them, the men and the women, coaches, players, support staff, everybody that had a role this season.
He added, “It was a special year. This will be hopefully a feeling in this locker room that we won’t forget, and we’ll be able to use it as fuel going forward.”