Before the Bears kick off the regular season, the mood around the team is all optimism. But the NFL has a way of cutting through that fast, and there are a few Chicago players who could end up falling short of what fans are hoping to see in 2026.
TJ Edwards is one of the clearest names to watch. He’s entering what could be a pivotal year, and there are real signs this may be his last run in Chicago.
Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen did not bring him in, and the Bears can move on after this season while clearing about $8.5M in cap space. With Devin Bush and D’Marco Jackson under contract longer, plus Keyshaun Elliott added in the draft, Edwards may not have much room for error.
If he looks a step slow after his injury or starts getting pushed around, Chicago could bench him.
Tyrique Stevenson is in a similar spot. He doesn’t have much long-term security, and he also lacks the kind of connection to Allen that might buy him patience.
If Stevenson struggles, the Bears won’t think twice about giving rookie Malik Muhammad a shot. Stevenson started well as a rookie, but the last two seasons have been uneven, and another stretch like that could leave him on the bench by season’s end.
Kyle Monangai is another player whose expectations may be running ahead of reality. Some around the team thought he might force D’Andre Swift into a 50/50 split, but Swift has looked excellent in Ben Johnson’s offense and Monangai has dealt with an injury this offseason.
The more likely outcome is a role that looks a lot like last year’s, with Monangai’s ceiling limited in every phase. Anyone expecting a major shift in the backfield could wind up disappointed.
Jordan van den Berg has created some buzz of his own. The rookie sixth-round pick came back to practice and immediately flashed, then carried that momentum into the preseason.
That kind of start, paired with a room that doesn’t exactly scream established production, is going to get fans thinking he’ll have a real role early. But even with Gervon Dexter out of the picture, van den Berg is still not in the top three of the rotation.
Right now, that group is Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, and Nevill Gallimore. Until he moves past one of them, the opportunity may not match the hype.
Then there’s Bradbury, who has built plenty of preseason buzz. He’s drawing praise for the way he communicates in the meeting room and on the practice field, but this is his third team in three years for a reason. What happens on the field is what matters, and if he can’t hold up physically, those intangibles won’t carry much weight.
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Sweats track record is the reason the idea has traction, and it also explains why it would be the sort of move that would get noticed well beyond Halas Hall. For a Bears team trying to close the gap in the NFC North, adding another edge threat would matter on its own, but it would also be the kind of upgrade Packers fans would hate seeing show up twice a year in a division game. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Rookies Could Force Big Decisions At Several Key Positions
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What makes the group especially interesting is that each rookie appears to have a different path to meaningful snaps, whether it is through a specific role, steady development or simply making the most of an opening at a position of need. The challenge for the Bears is sorting out which of those young players can do more than survive their first year and which ones can actually push the team into making bigger decisions before long. The answers will not all arrive at once, but the early benchmarks should tell Chicago a lot about how quickly this class can reshape the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Need More From These Key Players To Keep Climbing
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It is the kind of group that can make a good team look like a legitimate threat if things click in the right order. Chicago does not need all five to become stars, but it does need more consistency, more availability and, in some cases, a clearer return to form. The expectations are different for each player, yet the stakes are the same for the Bears, who are trying to keep building on last seasons progress and cannot afford for those important spots to go quiet. [Read more 🡒]