Preseason Game 2 is the kind of stage where roster battles start to get real, and the Bears have plenty of them lined up against the Bengals.
Caleb Williams isn’t expected to be part of the picture, so the spotlight shifts to the players fighting for jobs, roles and depth-chart leverage. Some spots need somebody - anybody - to grab hold of them. Others are about sorting out which reserves are actually going to stick when the roster gets trimmed down.
That makes Saturday a big opportunity for a handful of Chicago players who can move the needle with one good showing.
Marcus Davenport is first on that list, though the obvious caveat is simple: if Davenport plays. He still hasn’t practiced, so there’s a real chance he sits.
But if he’s out there, the bar is clear. Bears fans want pressure.
They want sacks. If he wants his arrival in Chicago to be anything other than a dead end for Ryan Poles, he needs to flash something.
Malik Muhammad also has a chance to help his case in a different way. He already has a roster spot, but after seeing work in the slot during the Bears’ first preseason game, he could get more chances there.
If that continues, he might establish himself as a real answer for the Kyler Gordon role, maybe even beyond that. Muhammad has played outside and brings physicality, and in Dennis Allen’s system that edge could make him a useful fit inside.
Kaden Davis has been building momentum all summer, and he kept it rolling in the Bears’ first preseason game. He’s made plays in camp, he’s shown his speed, and at this point he may not need much more to convince Ben Johnson he belongs as the team’s WR6 over Scotty Miller. A couple targets and one memorable play could go a long way.
On the back end, Xavier Woods has a straightforward path. He can lock up the other starting safety spot next to Dillon Thieneman by simply putting together a clean game.
Woods brings the experience, and Dennis Allen’s defense gives defensive backs room to make plays. If he handles his snaps well, the job should be his.
Jamree Kromah is one of the more intriguing names in this group because he came out of nowhere in the first preseason game and gave the Bears something to think about. That matters at defensive end, where the team badly needs somebody to rise up behind Montez Sweat and Austin Booker. Another outing like the one he had against Cleveland could push him onto the roster.
Jordan van den Berg made a similar kind of impression against the Browns. The rookie defensive tackle looked like the athletic player Chicago believed it was getting, winning repeatedly, driving blockers backward and creating disruption in the backfield. If that keeps up, he can force his way into the rotation over Kentavius Street, Neville Gallimore and James Lynch.
Dillon Thieneman is in a slightly different spot. The first-round pick has had an uneven summer, but he did turn heads during the joint practice against Cincinnati.
A strong game here would help calm things down. Nobody questions the talent.
The question is how fast it shows up. He’s fast, he’s a playmaker, and this is a chance to remind everyone why that matters.
Kiran Amegadjie rounds out the group, another player with something to prove as the Bears sort through their preseason puzzle against Cincinnati.
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Ben Johnson Is Zeroing In On Caleb Williams Biggest Limiter
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It is a familiar tradeoff for a young quarterback with big arm talent: play aggressively and keep the offense dangerous, or play safer and leave potential on the field. Johnson has stressed that balance in practice, and for Chicago that focus matters because the Bears are trying to build an attack that can stress defenses without sacrificing the kind of accuracy that makes the whole thing work. [Read more 🡒]