Breaking down the Bears’ 53-man roster
Week 1 is here.
It’s officially football season. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will kick off the 2026 NFL campaign Wednesday. The Bears, meanwhile, will open Sunday on the road against the Carolina Panthers.
Training camp is over. The roster is set. General manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson embarked on the process of rebuilding the roster after a divisional-round playoff loss in January.
Now it’s time to see the fruits of their labor. The Bears set their 53-man roster last week and have since filled their practice squad.
An NFL roster is an ever-evolving entity throughout a season. But here’s a look at where the Bears roster stands heading into Week 1.
Quarterbacks (3)
On the roster: Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum
Notable cuts: Miller Moss
Quick take: Williams enters Year 3 in the NFL and Year 2 with Johnson. Bagent remains the clear No. 2 option at the position. Keenum, 38, brings veteran perspective but hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since 2023. Keenum spent last year with the Bears, and the coaching staff sees him as a mentor for their young quarterbacks. Moss, a teammate of Williams at USC, struggled in his preseason appearances.
Running backs (3)
On the roster: D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Roschon Johnson
Practice squad: Salvon Ahmed, Zavier Scott
Quick take: Swift is poised to be the featured back, with Monangai serving as a reliable second option. Swift played 53.8% of offensive snaps last season, while Monangai played 41.4%, according to Pro Football Reference. The workloads could look similar in 2026. Certainly the Bears trust Monangai to handle the workload if Swift gets banged up. Monangai hyperextended his right knee and hasn’t practiced since, but it appears he missed the worst-case scenario. Roschon Johnson worked with the starters during preseason action and remains a key piece on special teams.
Wide receivers (5)
On the roster: Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker, Zavion Thomas
Practice squad: Kaden Davis, Scotty Miller, J.P. Richardson
Quick take: Odunze and Burden look like the clear 1A and 1B. Raymond is a reliable third option whom Johnson trusts from their time together in Detroit. Walker made some plays late last year and is flying under the radar somewhat. The Bears drafted Thomas with a third-round pick. Raymond and Thomas are options as return men on special teams. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bears call up Davis or Miller from the practice squad as needed. Davis was the surprise story of camp, but the Bears elected to go with five receivers.
Tight ends (3)
On the roster: Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush
Practice squad: Stephen Carlson, Qadir Ismail
Injured reserve: Hayden Large
Quick take: Loveland looks like a mismatch in the red zone and, as Williams said this summer, could be poised to emerge as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. Kmet is steady and reliable as both a blocker and pass-catcher. The addition of Roush gives Johnson even more flexibility to mix and match his tight ends. All three should be on the field often. The Bears initially added Large to the active roster before placing him on IR. That indicates he could be back sometime this season, although he’ll have to miss at least four games.
Offensive linemen (10)
On the roster: Braxton Jones (LT), Joe Thuney (LG), Garrett Bradbury (C), Jonah Jackson (RG), Darnell Wright (RT), Theo Benedet (OT), Logan Jones (C), Jordan McFadden (G), Luke Newman (G/C), Ozzy Trapilo (OT)
Practice squad: Caden Barnett (G), Kyle Hergel (G/C), Christian Jones (OT)
Notable cuts: Jedrick Wills Jr. (OT), Kiran Amegadjie (OT)
Quick take: This group looks much the same as last year, except with a new starting center in Bradbury. The Bears left themselves with options at tackle. Jones, Benedet and Trapilo all started regular-season games at left tackle last year. Jones appears likely to be the starter in Week 1. Trapilo returned quickly from a serious left knee injury suffered in January, but he still had not participated in team drills when training camp ended. That means it could be some time before the Bears feel comfortable putting him in a game. Overall, they were fortunate health-wise on the O-line last year. With experienced backups such as Benedet and McFadden, the Bears have to feel decent about the depth of the 10 players on the active roster.
Defensive linemen (11)
On the roster: DEs Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah; DTs Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, Neville Gallimore, James Lynch, Jayden Loving, Jordan van den Berg
Practice squad: Marcus Davenport (DE)
Physically unable to perform list: Shemar Turner (DE)
Quick take: Jarrett is the only tackle who returns from last season after the Bears traded Gervon Dexter Sr. last week. Street, Gallimore and Lynch likely will fill out the rotation in the middle, with rookies Loving and van den Berg as developmental pieces who could earn opportunities. The Bears are counting on big years from Sweat, Booker and Odeyingbo on the edge. Odeyingbo will kick inside on passing downs. Loving and Kromah were two of the biggest surprises when the Bears announced the active roster. Loving is an undrafted rookie out of Wake Forest. Kromah spent all of last season on the practice squad.
Linebackers (5)
On the roster: T.J. Edwards, Devin Bush, D’Marco Jackson, Keyshaun Elliott, Jack Sanborn
Practice squad: Buddy Johnson, Wayne Matthews III
PUP list: Noah Sewell
Quick take: The Bears were cautious with Edwards, who is coming off a fractured left fibula in January as well as a minor calf injury at the start of camp. But Edwards and Bush should be the primary linebackers. Jackson proved to be a reliable blitzer when called upon last season. He’ll be involved too. Sanborn returned as a free agent and stepped in with the starting group whenever injuries necessitated in camp. Elliott missed most of camp with a back injury but should be a contributor on special teams. Sewell is still recovering from a torn Achilles.
Cornerbacks (5)
On the roster: Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad II, Josh Blackwell, Clark Phillips III
Practice squad: Deantre Prince
PUP list: Kyler Gordon
Notable cuts: Terell Smith, Jaylon Jones
Quick take: Jaylon Johnson, who missed a ton of last season with a core muscle injury, was mostly healthy throughout camp. Muhammad has put himself in position to be the starting nickel as a rookie. Blackwell will continue to be primarily a special teams player, but a valuable one at that. Phillips is the new addition in the Dexter trade who could play nickel or outside corner. Gordon will remain sidelined for the time being. His timeline to return remains unclear as he works through a calf injury.
Safeties (5)
On the roster: Dillon Thieneman, Xavier Woods, Cam Lewis, Elijah Hicks, Skyler Thomas
Practice squad: Marlen Sewell
Injured reserve: Coby Bryant
Quick take: Bryant was initially on the 53-man roster and then moved to IR, a procedural move that means the Bears are hopeful he might return from left knee surgery this season. First-round draft pick Thieneman is a lock to start. There has been some uncertainty about who will be starting beside him, though. Lewis has taken starting reps for much of camp, but Woods took most of the starting reps last week. Thomas is an undrafted rookie out of Oregon State who made some plays in preseason action.
Specialists (3)
On the roster: Cairo Santos (K), Tory Taylor (P), Beau Gardner (LS)
Quick take: Gardner solidified himself as the long snapper midway through camp when the Bears moved on from Luke Elkin, who had been his competition for the job. Santos has been the team’s primary kicker since 2020 and remains the most accurate field-goal kicker in franchise history. Taylor is heading into the third year of his four-year rookie contract.
Our takes
Brad Biggs: The Bears upgraded what was a potent offense a year ago by improving at the No. 3 receiver position with Raymond and adding speedster Thomas to give play caller Ben Johnson and quarterback Williams weapons galore. Barring a change of direction, everything is going to be based on the running game again. The Bears were third in the league in rushing, and one reason is that they had excellent health on the offensive line, with the exception of the left tackle issues. They’ll need to remain healthy up front once again, especially to continue to provide Williams with good protection. Much has been made about the team’s situation at edge rusher. Some have said the position was ignored in the draft. That’s fine, but if GM Ryan Poles took an edge rusher at No. 25, he would have been drafting for need. The Bears feel as if they have a potential impact player in safety Thieneman. We’ll see how the defensive line fares because as much talk as there has been about the pass rush, the run defense was as big of a problem in 2025. A healthy Jaylon Johnson could make a considerable difference for coordinator Dennis Allen.
Sean Hammond: Injuries are the ultimate wild card, but on paper the Bears look like they have an offense that can score points in bunches. That’s especially true if Williams continues to elevate those around him. Odunze, Burden and Loveland are all capable of having big years. The offensive line was elite a year ago and it’s largely the same group. The defensive line has some major questions. Can Booker and Odeyingbo come through on the edge? Is the new-look defensive tackle group going to be good enough to improve a bad run defense from 2025? Losing Bryant, their big free-agent addition, hurts the secondary. He could miss the entire season. Ben Johnson is hoping that increased speed on the back end will help the defensive line. If it doesn’t work, the Bears could find themselves in some shootouts.
Phil Thompson: The Bears have assembled an impressive collection of talent on offense, but Williams has to bring it all together. That means showing signs of growth in the second year of Ben Johnson’s system and relying less on late-game heroics. To do that, he has put up a better than last season’s 58.1% completion percentage, ranked 32nd among qualifiers, per NFL Pro. Williams’ teammates sense great self-assurance in him, and the depth and diversity of his pass catchers — from Loveland to Burden to Thomas — should give him range and unpredictability. The defense inspires less confidence. The Bears could be in trouble if the pass rush doesn’t get better, and a lot of it hinges on newcomers who are unproven, incumbents returning from major injuries and “better coaching.” There’s even more uncertainty in the secondary, which will rely on rookie safety Thieneman and then “maybes” at the other safety spot and nickel corner. At least linebacker looks solid with Edwards and Bush, though the depth there is highly questionable.