After five long weeks of camp, the Bears are finally out the other side, and the roster has a few clear rise-and-fall stories to sort through. Injuries shaped a big chunk of the summer, with Coby Bryant, Luther Burden III, Kyle Monangai, Braxton Jones, Montez Sweat, Zavion Thomas and others missing extended stretches before some of them worked back onto the practice field.
A few players used that chaos to their advantage.
Ahmed was one of the biggest surprises in camp. He looked like the version of himself the Miami Dolphins once had before injuries slowed him down, and he even turned in a 49-yard touchdown catch against the Cleveland Browns. With Monangai sidelined, Ahmed kept stacking highlight plays and went from being a long shot to someone with a real chance at the 53-man roster.
Jordan van den Berg also turned heads in a major way. The rookie defensive tackle was the most impressive first-year player in the 2026 class and easily one of the camp’s biggest revelations.
Chicago came in expecting a lot from him, and he kept beating those expectations, knifing through the line and eventually earning first-team reps by the end of camp. At this pace, he looks like a player who could stick as a long-term starter.
Cole Kmet Loveland was another clear winner. Bears fans wanted to see him take another step in the passing game with DJ Moore gone, and he delivered.
Loveland made strong plays all camp long and looked like a tight end capable of producing at a top-five level. The buzz around him going into Year 2 was loud, and he backed it up.
Roush also put together a strong camp. The rookie class was generally quiet, and first-round pick Dillon Thieneman had a good summer, but Roush stood out by improving as a receiver while holding up as a blocker. Week by week, he got better, and now he looks like a solid future backup for Loveland.
Not everyone left camp in good shape.
Kyler Gordon never got onto the practice field once during training camp while continuing to rehab a soft-tissue injury. That kind of absence matters, and the longer he sits, the more the Bears may start thinking about moving on from him as their starting nickel. His future in Chicago is looking shaky if he can’t get back soon.
Braxton Jones also landed on the wrong side of the ledger. There was plenty of talk about him arriving to camp as a new man and taking a step forward, but the results told a familiar story: more injuries and more regression at left tackle. With Ozzy Trapilo due back soon, Jones may be running out of runway in Chicago after the last two weeks.
Jedrick Wills Jr. was another disappointment. The former first-round pick never came close to living up to the billing, and his camp slid from a competition for the left tackle job to a situation where he might not even make the roster. Chicago even shifted him to right tackle for reps, and if he does get cut, it could be the final hit to his NFL career.
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Ben Johnson Is Changing What Bears Fans Should Expect Vs Packers
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That kind of stance matters in a rivalry that has long carried its own history and baggage, and it signals a different standard for Chicago moving forward. Johnson has also pushed the Bears to prepare for tight finishes with real urgency, which changes what players are expected to handle when the game is on the line and raises the bar for how these meetings with Green Bay are approached. [Read more 🡒]