The biggest position battles entering Bears training camp
When Bears training camp begins Tuesday, jobs will be up for grabs. Well, a few of them anyway.
A few years ago, when the Bears were in the midst of a roster overhaul, it felt like there were position battles all over the place. Now? Not so much.
This is a Bears team that fell an overtime loss shy of the NFC championship game. At many positions, returning starters have earned the benefit of the doubt.
There are, however, a few starting spots with some uncertainty on coach Ben Johnson’s depth chart. Here’s a look at this summer’s most intriguing position battles.
1. Left tackle
Offensive line coach Dan Roushar said this spring that the Bears are approaching left tackle as if it were a blank slate.
But based on organized team activities and minicamp, it looks as if this will be Braxton Jones’ job to lose. The fifth-year pro re-signed with the team on a one-year contract and spent considerable time with the first-team offense this spring.
Last season Jones started the first four games, after returning from ankle surgery late in the 2024 season, before Johnson made a switch.
Perhaps a healthy Kiran Amegadjie can push Jones, or potentially veteran addition Jedrick Wills Jr. Amegadjie spent time this spring at left tackle with the second-team offense while sometimes getting reps with the starters.
Third-year pro Theo Benedet worked at both right and left tackle but not with the starters. Benedet started seven games at left tackle last season but was replaced midseason by second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo. Trapilo is expected to miss much of this season because of a knee injury suffered in the playoffs.
Jones said this spring he feels a lot closer to the player he was in 2024 before the ankle injury.
“A big piece of it is simply feeling right from the lower half and from the injuries,” Jones said. “Last year I was still in a good place, but I just didn’t trust it.”
Amegadjie missed most of last season with an elbow injury, but he was healthy for the spring. The Bears remain intrigued by the 2024 third-round pick, who has started just one game, but it might be tough for him to beat out a more seasoned vet in Jones, who has 44 starts under his belt.
Wills, a former Cleveland Browns first-round pick, is a wild card. He was out of the league last season rehabbing a knee injury.
Even if Jones looks like the front-runner, left tackle remains one of the biggest question marks on the roster.
2. Wide receiver
Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are expected to take on the brunt of the work. The question here is who will be the third receiver in three-receiver packages.
The Bears under Johnson use a high percentage of two-tight-end packages, but 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers) remains the NFL’s most popular package and the Bears used it 52% of the time last year.
Veteran addition Kalif Raymond looks like the likely answer here. But last year’s undrafted surprise Jahdae Walker and this year’s third-round pick Zavion Thomas could push for playing time. The Bears wouldn’t have drafted Thomas as high as they did if they weren’t going to use him. They’ve also invested time into Walker, who made several big plays in key moments last season.
If Thomas can grasp the playbook and earn the trust of his coaches, Johnson will get him the ball.
“When he has the ball in his hands, when he’s doing the right thing, he’s pretty special,” quarterback Caleb Williams said this spring.
Walker has a good rapport with Williams and has become one of the quarterback’s favorite teammates. Can that translate into more production in 2026? Walker had only six catches last season, but two were late-season touchdowns.
Raymond played some of his best football when Johnson was his offensive coordinator in Detroit. Over five years with the Lions, Raymond averaged 34.2 receptions and 437 yards per season.
The veteran is likely the front-runner, but could the young guys challenge him?
3. Cornerback
It’s a contract year for 2023 second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson. There never has been more pressure on the 26-year-old to perform. That could be a good thing for the Bears.
Jaylon Johnson will start at one outside cornerback spot. If healthy, Kyler Gordon will start inside at nickel. Stevenson is the leading candidate for the other outside corner spot, but he’ll have to earn it.
The Bears favored Nahshon Wright — who since signed with the New York Jets — over Stevenson when the secondary was fully healthy late in the 2025 season. Stevenson played sparingly in late December and the playoffs.
There will be no lack of competition. Perhaps most notable is the return of fellow 2023 draft pick Terell Smith, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, and the addition of fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad.
Muhammad worked at nickel during the spring, but the bulk of his college experience was at outside corner.
“He’s also a guy that’s multiple,” defensive backs coach Al Harris said. “You can put him on the outside, you can put him on the inside as a nickel. Just from his evaluation on tape, I see a ball guy.”
Wright earned a starting role last year by being a “ball guy.” Players who create turnovers will see the field in Harris’ secondary.
Stevenson has seven interceptions and five forced fumbles in 45 career games. He had three of those (one interception and two forced fumbles) in 13 games last season.
Smith injured his knee in the preseason last year but should be back in the mix. He appeared in 26 games with six starts in his first two seasons. He has one career interception and one forced fumble.
Muhammad, with his positional versatility, figures to be a valuable backup as a rookie. Can he be more?
4. Kickoff returner
Don’t underestimate how much the Bears valued kick returns when they selected Thomas in the third round. Rule changes have made kickoffs a meaningful play again. Teams will do anything to give their offenses better field position, and the expectation is even more kickoffs will be returned this year.
Thomas averaged 27.2 yards per kickoff return over four years of SEC football at Mississippi State and LSU. If he can protect the ball, he could find a niche for himself as a returner.
The biggest hurdle is the veteran Raymond. He is an experienced returner, although in recent years his focus has been punts. Still, he averaged 26.8 yards on six kickoff returns last season, albeit a small sample size.
Raymond is a two-time All-Pro as a punt returner. He almost certainly will win that job. But kickoffs look like they’re up for grabs.
Honorable mention: Center and safety
Center drew a lot of attention this spring, but the veteran Garrett Bradbury saw all of the first-team reps in practices that were open to the media. Rookie Logan Jones is the long-term plan, but it feels as if this job belongs solidly to Bradbury for the time being.
At safety, first-round pick Dillon Thieneman mostly worked with the second-team defense in the spring. It’s a time-honored tradition that rookies have to earn their spots.
Even so, it would be a major surprise if Thieneman isn’t starting in Week 1. Veterans Cam Lewis and Elijah Hicks have more experience, but the Bears see Thieneman as the type of rookie who can make an immediate impact.