Windy City Gridiron
With the 2025 NFL draft and rookie mini-camp in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look at what the Bears’ roster could look like in Week 1.
The 2025 NFL Draft and rookie mini-camps have concluded, and the fruits of each general manager’s offseason labor can be seen more clearly. For the Chicago Bears, it’s been another season of vast changes. It started with a brand new coaching staff, which led to significant changes in the trenches. The Bears have been the biggest “winners” in the NFC North for what feels like the third-straight offseason, but will it be enough to get them out of the cellar?
Let’s examine the Bears’ current roster more closely and consider what it might look like without any other significant moves heading into Week 1.
Quarterback (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, and Case Keenum
After the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, it became apparent that not having a proven veteran leader in the quarterback room was a mistake. After hiring a new coaching staff and most of the free agent dust had settled, the Bears committed to surrounding Williams with the proper support system to succeed. Although it’s possible that they could opt to go with two quarterbacks once the regular season begins, the team still seems to value Bagent as the primary backup. Barring injury, this group appears set.
Practice Squad: Austin Reed
Running Back (4): D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Munangai, Travis Homer
If you had asked me at the start of the offseason for an over/under on how many new names this group would have, I would have set the number at 1.5. It’s hard to imagine many scenarios where the Bears believed they would come out of the draft with just one seventh-round running back, yet here we are. This is one of the few areas left on the depth chart where the Bears could monitor potential veterans. This appears to be the group they’ll roll with unless Wheeler or Hankins surprises.
Practice Squad: Ian Wheeler
Tight End (3): Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland, and Durham Smythe
There’s a world where the team could choose to keep four names at the position, but considering the quality of these three at the top of the depth chart, that seems unlikely. Smythe will act as the primary blocker, while Kmet and Loveland split time as the primary tight end on the field. Fans can expect head coach Ben Johnson to run plenty of 12-personnel, but don’t be surprised if they bring Loveland along slowly at the start of the year until he proves he can handle a bigger workload.
Practice Squad: Stephen Carlson
Wide Receiver (5): DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Devin Duvernay
It’s easy to see what Johnson’s vision is for this group, isn’t it? Speed, speed, and more speed. Three of the five names on this projection are players added over the last two months. Zaccheaus was their best slot option until Burden...
