Examining the Bears 2026 Minicamp Battles
The NFL season is getting closer and closer by each passing day.
With that, let’s look at the three battles that will help shape the Bears’ roster for the upcoming 2026 season.
1) WR Room
Let’s start with one of the pass-catching rooms. Last season, the Bears’ passing offense definitely lagged behind the run game for most of the season. This is despite the room having some impressive talent, including DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden.
Burden is now going into his 2nd year, and excitement awaits to see if he can build off what was a very promising end to the campaign. Odunze struggled with an injury that occurred mid-season, and he never regained the chemistry he and Williams had built early on. Remember, he had 5 TDs and led the Bears in targets and yards through 5 games before the injury slowed him down.
DJ Moore has now been traded away, and in comes the depth that the Bears had, adding to the room. You got the undrafted darling in Jahdae Walker—the free agent signing of Khalif Raymond. The 3rd round pick Zavion Thomas. Usually, an NFL team carries 5 to 6 WRs on the roster.
The battle for all these guys, minus Burden and Odunze, is over who’s gonna fill the WR 3 and 4 spots. Last season, it was a struggle for the Bears to stretch the defense at times. The additions of Raymond and Thomas are sure to help fix that.
2) Left Tackle
This is probably the position that has the most intrigue and concern. Ozzy Trapilo went down late last year with a Patellar Tendon injury. He is set to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season.
Because of that, there was a good question about whether the Bears would draft another tackle in the first 3 rounds of the draft or sign a stopgap veteran like Taylor Decker. Instead, the Bears brought back Braxton Jones and added Jedrick Wills Jr as a sort of reclamation project.
No doubt the offensive line is incredibly important for Ben Johnson. His scheme can’t be run properly without an adequate one. Fans might roll their eyes about the names, but these are the guys the Bears chose to fill that spot, at least for this season.
Whoever gets the position will be the guy who goes up and grabs it early.
3) Cornerback
No position was affected most by injury, you could argue, more than the secondary, and especially the cornerback. We know the Bears value the position, given the talent they have acquired over the years.
Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon were both seen as vital to the Bears; however, they combined to play in only 14 games this season. Johnson, because of a core muscle injury, and Gordon, because of his abundance of soft tissue injuries.
Both are set to be healthy and ready to go right from the jump. Behind them is where the battle really begins. Tyrique Stevenson is in the final year of his contract, and he needs to be locked in because the depth behind him is coming.
Terrell Smith is set to return from his torn Patellar Tendon injury in the preseason of last year. Malik Muhammad was drafted in the 4th round to add to the speed that he brings along with the rest of the additions.
The Bears need these positions not only sorted out but also contributions from these guys to capture some of that 2025 magic again.
Discover more from Chicago Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.