ClutchPoints
After a strong free agency window, the Chicago Bears were forced to enter enemy territory for the 2025 NFL Draft, but still left with an impressive batch of new players. With their roster now mostly complete, the Bears are nearly ready to begin organized team activities, commonly referenced as OTAs, and minicamps at the end of the month.
Before the draft began, the Bears stole the show early in the offseason. After hiring Ben Johnson as head coach, general manager Ryan Poles pulled off two huge trades for offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. Chicago subsequently signed former All-Pro defensive tackle Grady Jarrett following his release from the Atlanta Falcons.
The trades for Thuney and Jackson cost the Bears some draft capital, but Chicago still left Green Bay with eight new additions to its roster. Committed to Caleb Williams’ sophomore development under Johnson, Poles spent five of his eight picks on offensive players. The team’s first two picks, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, immediately provide Williams with downfield threats he did not have as a rookie.
But even with how well the Bears have done so far in the offseason, the roster is not without its holes. Chicago still lacks depth in some areas on defense while dealing with a surplus of talent in other positions. Before training camps begin, Poles still has a few more moves to make in free agency to round out his team.
Returning leading tacklers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, the Bears’ linebacking corps is in good shape entering 2025. But as the Bears shift into a new era with Dennis Allen taking over as defensive coordinator, they lack depth at the position. Historically, Allen’s defenses thrived with All-Pro talent and a deep rotation of tacklers in the second level.
Allen’s adaptable defensive schemes typically rely on a 4-3 base, but Chicago does not have much behind Edmunds and Edwards. Poles appropriately drafted Ruben Hyppolite III in the fourth round, but the options are fairly thin. Hyppolite is a reliable tackler, but he never accrued more than 66 stops in any of his five years at Maryland. Amen Ogbongbemiga, who managed just 13 tackles in 2024, is the only other plausible option.
With Hyppolite not yet ready for a full workload, the Bears need to add veteran help in free agency. Their previous moves leave them without much cap room — only about $10 million in space remaining, per Over the Cap — but the position desperately needs depth. Chicago can try to convince C.J. Mosley to take a significant pay cut, but one of De’Vondre Campbell, Nick Vigil, Kyzir White or Shaq Thompson seems more realistic.
Edmunds and Edwards are both contracted for at least two more years, giving the Bears security at the position for the time being. They will likely need to prioritize the position in the 2026 NFL Draft, but for now, all they need is another veteran on a one-year deal.
**Bears...
