Bears know they have a lot of work to do this offseason to reach their ultimate goal

The Bears reached success they hadn’t had in a while in coach Ben Johnson’s first season. The team returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, won its first NFC North title since 2018 and earned its first playoff win since 2010.

The Bears also kept things interesting along the way. They had seven comeback wins after trailing with two minutes left in the game, including one against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

Now Chicago will turn its attention to the offseason. There will be some tough roster decisions to make as the franchise tries to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006.

Here are five of the most interesting things the Bears said Wednesday.

On looking back and moving forward

It’s hard to argue that the 2025 Bears season was anything but a success. Johnson guided the Bears to their first winning season since 2018.

He did it by building a new culture at Halas Hall. Johnson preached the importance of details and accountability for much of the offseason and training camp. He and his coaching staff instituted a belief that the Bears were never out of a game, no matter how large the deficit.

That paid dividends throughout the season.

“It was incredible,” Poles said. “I loved watching (Johnson). I asked him the other day, his messaging to the team, it moves the team and they’re locked in. They listen and they take it back to the locker room and to the field. The buy-in was incredible.”

But Johnson was quick to move on to the 2026 season. The Bears are looking to have their second consecutive winning season for the first time since 2006. Chicago has had eight winning seasons since the turn of the century.

Johnson didn’t believe in building off this season, though. The Bears had to start from the beginning again.

“There is no building off of this,” Johnson said. “We go back to square one. We’re back at the bottom again. That’s really all 32 teams. If you feel otherwise you’re probably missing the big picture. We’re back at it. We gotta start from scratch, we gotta start from the fundamentals. A lot of guys talked about how difficult this training camp was; I didn’t feel like it was anything out of my ordinary. They know that the expectation is.”

On Caleb Williams’ growth

A major question, if not the question, heading into this season was whether Caleb Williams could take a big step forward under Johnson and show that he can be the team’s franchise quarterback. He answered that question in more ways than one.

Williams proved why both Poles and Johnson believed in the former No. 1 overall pick. He improved throughout the season in ways that led to wins and him breaking the team’s single-season passing record. He also displayed clutch play, leading seven comebacks with some remarkable throws.

“The things we highlighted for Caleb to start the season, I do think they improved as the season went on,” Johnson said. “We revamped the footwork a little bit last spring. I think the comfort level grew from that. He certainly got more comfortable with the concepts we were running over the course of the season. That’s something we can build upon. And yet there’s still a lot more that we can push through in that regard. I’m really encouraged about the steps he took this year. I’m Caleb Williams’ No. 1 believer. I have a lot of faith in him and what he’s capable of doing and the player that he’s still striving to become.”

Johnson will work through some goals for Williams over the offseason. But he also wants Williams to get away from football and relax for a bit. Williams took his advice, being seen at both Chicago Blackhawks and Bulls games on Monday and Tuesday night.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Poles said. “But I think he gets you excited about what he can become if he continues on the path he was on before.”

On Bears’ offseason approach

Poles will face a different type of offseason for the first time since he took over in 2022. He’ll try to supplement a winning team as opposed to building one.

Poles said the process won’t change. The Bears will continue to look for players who fit their criteria. They’ll also be smart about how they do it and not try to solve a short-term solution by creating a long-term problem.

“We want to stay flexible, we want to stay open minded, we want to stay committed to building this team the right way because I think that’s the best way to sustain success,” Poles said. “We’re always going to be opportunistic. We’re going to go through opportunities that pop up and talk through them. Is this best for us short term? Is it best for us long term? And then we move from there.”

On roster, coaching changes

Both Johnson and Poles agreed that the Bears would have some tough decisions to make this offseason. According to Spotrac, Chicago has roughly $3.7 million in salary-cap space, 21st in the NFL.

That could force the Bears to make some moves to create more space. Wide receiver DJ Moore, defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and left guard Joe Thuney have the five highest salary-cap hits for the Bears.

Poles will also have to decide what to do at safety. Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks will all be free agents this offseason and could force some tough choices.

“Kevin’s a special player,” Poles said. “I have no problem saying that’s a player that we would like to have back. But, again, when you add the other safeties into that mix and all the other decisions we have across the roster, with cap restraints and things like that, it’ll be a challenge.”

Ben Johnson will also have to deal with some coaches from his staff being hired elsewhere. The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly are targeting running backs coach Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator, and other Bears coaches could be hired too.

“I’m all for it, man,” Johnson said. “I want these guys to continue to ascend. Anything I can do to help them out, I think they all know I’m more than willing to do that. But a big part of what this collection of guys brought to the table was they all wanted to be here.”

On injuries

Poles gave an update on some injuries to monitor over the offseason.

Both Trapilo and linebacker Noah Sewell had surgery. Trapilo tore the patellar tendon in his knee, and Sewell tore his Achilles tendon.

Poles didn’t have a timetable for Trapilo’s return but said it could happen later next season. That will force the Bears to look at the position this offseason.

“He knows this is part of his journey that he has to overcome,” Poles said. “I have a lot of faith in him and our staff to get him back ready to go whenever that is.”

Jaylon Johnson suffered a minor wrist injury Sunday against the Rams and offensive lineman Jordan McFadden hurt his ankle. The Bears also expect linebacker T.J. Edwards, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, cornerback Terell Smith, offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie and rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner to return at some point in the offseason.

Poles also expects cornerback Zah Frazier to be back this offseason. The Bears’ fifth-round pick missed all of the season for a personal reason, but Poles said he’s in a good spot to return.

“He’s got a mountain to climb just for missing so much ball,” Poles said. “He needed to play. So that will be up to him to be able to get himself in the right position to compete for a roster spot.”