The Bears’ roster, by the numbers
It’s easy to make comparisons between the 2025 Chicago Bears roster to open the season and how things might have felt at this time last September.
The big difference, of course, is head coach Ben Johnson.
It’s easy to quip, “Well, remember what Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze were supposed to do for the offense,” or “didn’t last year’s defense have a bunch of returning starters and look what happened to them,” or “remember last year’s offensive line being an improved group?”
Sure, all fair, but that’s where Johnson comes in, not to mention general manager Ryan Poles upgrading the offensive line to a whole new level. We also saw a few players destined for the roster bubble have impressive summers and make the team, like defensive end Dominique Robinson, linebacker Noah Sewell and offensive tackle Theo Benedet. All three of them are reserves, speaking to improved depth.
“The staff did a wonderful job developing some players, putting them really ahead of the developmental curve and then in place to compete for starting positions, backup roles and then making the 53, which is always a good thing,” Poles said last week.
This annual “By the numbers” preview of the Week 1 roster called the 2024 group” as talented, deep and experienced as the Bears have had in a bit.” On paper, that was true. On the field, we saw what happened.
Well, this roster is more talented, has better depth, is more experienced, and most importantly, has a new coaching staff. What that means for 2025 hinges a lot on Caleb Williams. Here’s a refresher of the 53 players set to begin practice ahead of “Monday Night Football” against the Vikings.
Quarterback (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum
Running back (3): D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Roschon Johnson
Wide receiver (6): D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Olamide Zaccheaus, Luther Burden III, Devin Duvernay, Jahdae Walker
Tight end (3): Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland, Durham Smythe
Offensive line (10): Darnell Wright, Jonah Jackson, Drew Dalman, Joe Thuney, Braxton Jones, Ryan Bates, Ozzy Trapilo, Kiran Amegadjie, Luke Newman, Theo Benedet
Defensive end (4): Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Dominique Robinson, Daniel Hardy
Defensive tackle (5): Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, Chris Williams, Shemar Turner
Linebacker (5): Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, Ruben Hyppolite II, D’Marco Jackson
Cornerback (7): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Nahshon Wright, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones, Nick McCloud
Safety (4): Kevin Byard III, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks
Specialists (3): Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Scott Daly
Here’s the annual by-the-numbers breakdown of the Bears’ season-opening roster.
2,940: Pass attempts combined for 2025 Bears quarterbacks
Last year, this number was only 143, accounting for all of Tyson Bagent’s throws in his rookie season. Now it includes Bagent’s 145, Williams’ 562 and Case Keenum’s 2,233. For one, it’s a numerical reminder of how much more prepared Williams should be for Year 2 after getting all those passes under his belt as a rookie. Sure, it’s a season he’d mostly want to forget, but one he has said will ultimately be good for him.
This year, Williams can also benefit from having Keenum on the sideline and in the meeting rooms with him. He’s seen it all in his career.
“If his routine is to watch the last however many games, I’ll go back and watch some other games and put together a cut-up,” Keenum said. “‘Hey, these are pressures from these other games.’”
That should be valuable.
320: Combined starts for the projected Week 1 starting offensive line
That’s almost double the number of starts from last year’s opening-day front five. It illustrates the moves Poles made to fortify the offensive line, starting with Joe Thuney, whose 146 career starts far and away lead the group. Included are two 2024 Week 1 starters, Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones, who have another year of experience and — if they’re on the right trajectory — would be able to ascend this season, provided they stay healthy.
The reserve five linemen have combined for only 22 starts — and 21 of those are courtesy of Ryan Bates. It is still an improved group, though, including a second-round pick (Ozzy Trapilo), a third-rounder (Kiran Amegadjie) and two players who had really impressive summers (Luke Newman and Benedet).
3: Ryan Pace acquisitions remaining
There are only two Pace draft picks still on the team: tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Poles should be grateful that Pace selected those two in the second round in 2020, and that he signed placekicker Cairo Santos ahead of that season. All three have received an extension from the new GM.
We have now passed the “rebuild” phase of things, even with a new coaching staff.
20: Newcomers
That’s split up among seven draft picks, one undrafted rookie and 12 veteran acquisitions. It’s seven more than last year, a sign of a new coaching staff putting its stamp on the roster.
A handful of those 20 will be in the starting lineup Monday night: Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman on the offensive line; at least one of Olamide Zaccheaus, Luther Burden III or Colston Loveland, depending on the formation; and then defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo.
The most important newcomer, Ben Johnson, isn’t counted here, but it’s his scheme with the new additions on offense that is supposed to get the Bears to a place they’ve never been. Their league rankings in points scored over the past six seasons were 28th, 18th, 23rd, 27th, 22nd and 29th.
8.5: Combined sacks last season for 4 defensive ends
Montez Sweat had only 5 1/2 sacks in 2024, and Odeyingbo had three. Robinson and Daniel Hardy both had zero. Those are your four defensive ends. Now, Sweat had a really impressive summer, and the Bears feel like he can get back to the Pro Bowler he was when he arrived in 2023. They invested heavily in Odeyingbo being able to turn pressures into sacks.
It speaks to the belief in Sweat and Odeyingbo that the Bears do not have more behind them in terms of previous sack production. Austin Booker, who had four sacks in the preseason, will miss at least the first four games while on injured reserve. There’s also an expectation that the improved interior will play a big role in the pass rush, not to mention Dennis Allen’s schematic influence, but the Bears clearly need better production than their starting ends had last season.
138: Consecutive starts for S Kevin Byard III
The league used to compile “ironmen” statistics on the official statistics site, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t anymore. It’s also unclear if it would count Byard, who ended up with two bye weeks in 2023 after being traded from the Titans to the Eagles. However, every game he’s been on the field for the opening snap of every game since he got the starting job in his rookie season.
Kmet hasn’t missed a game since entering the league, a streak of 84 games. When he didn’t start in Week 1 last season, that ended a streak of 54 games started. At wide receiver, DJ Moore enters the season on a 70-start streak.
Luck can play such a role in a team’s success as far as staying healthy. The depth is certainly better this year, and it’s good to have a few veterans who have shown they can be durable.
26.23: Average age of Bears’ initial 53-man roster
Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice compiles this each year (and explains his methodology here). The Bears ranked right in the middle of the league as the 16th-youngest.
However, after a few roster moves, the Week 1 average roster age is actually 26.38, which would tie the Texans for 23rd youngest. The waiver claims included two 27-year-olds — D’Marco Jackson and Jaylon Jones — while the Bears put the 22-year-old Booker on IR and waived 24-year-old Carl Jones Jr.
An average age of 26.38 would be the oldest Bears roster since 2021 (27.0). A closer look, though, doesn’t really make this feel like an “old” roster. Thirty-seven-year-old Case Keenum is the Bears’ oldest player and is not expected to play this season. Next is Santos, 33, who is kicking at a high level. Then you’ve got 32-year-old Joe Thuney, fresh off a first-team All-Pro appearance, and 32-year-old Grady Jarrett, who didn’t look like he’s lost a step during training camp.
Among the nine players who are 30 or older, six are backups or specialists, including tight end Durham Smythe, long snapper Scott Daly, defensive tackle Andrew Billings and safety Jonathan Owens.
5: Former Bears on the Falcons
The bit is back! Ryan Pace is in Atlanta’s front office, and it is with that lens that we can look at the Bears’ influence.
Edge rusher Leonard Floyd, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, linebacker Josh Woods, defensive tackle LaCale London and offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson, all former Pace acquisitions on the Bears, are now on the Falcons’ Week 1 roster.
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