Bears Team Needs for 2026 Offseason: Protect Caleb Williams

Year 1 of the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams partnership produced the Bears' first NFC North title since 2018 along with countless thrilling late-game comebacks. While the clock struck midnight on Chicago's Cinderella season in overtime against the Rams, it was still a pretty great step in the right direction for a team that had the NFL's second-fewest wins from 2021 to 2024.

2025: 11-6 (+26 point differential, preseason win total: 8.5)
Points per game: 25.9 (9th)
EPA per pass: +0.12 (9th)
EPA per rush: +0.01 (6th)
Points per game against: 24.4 (23rd)
EPA per pass against: +0.09 (20th)
EPA per rush against: -0.04 (21st)

The glass-half-empty view entering 2026 would center around the regression gods waging war against a squad that finished 8-5 in one-score games and will now have to face a first-place schedule. The glass-half-full view would focus on a rising young roster that doesn't have too many holes to fill–especially on the offensive side of the ball.

What do the Bears Need to do Ahead of the 2026 NFL Season?

Need 1: Secondary

This already meh defense has four starters in the backend hitting unrestricted free agency:

S Kevin Byard: The veteran ball-hawk picked off an NFL-high 7 passes in 2025. Byard will be 33 next August.
S Jaquan Brisker: Showed out during the Bears' season-ending loss to the Rams and provided plenty of physicality as the defense's primary box safety.
CB Nahshon Wright: The defense's highest graded corner via PFF, Wright's 5 interceptions were tied for the most at the position.
DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson: The physical veteran spent most of his time as the defense's slot corner after being signed in October.

Hell, even backups Jonathan "Simone Biles' husband" Owens and Elijah Hicks are free agents, leaving the Bears without a single safety under contract ahead of 2026. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon will be back, but plenty more work around them needs to be done.

Need 2: Defensive line

Credit to Montez Sweat for racking up 10 sacks in 2025, although he was still just tied for 38th in pass rush win rate. Unfortunately, nobody else ranked inside the position's top 70 among 121 qualified EDGE defenders. This defense simply didn't get after the quarterback on a consistent enough basis last season.

31.5% pressure rate (29th)
35 sacks (tied for 22nd)
31.6% havoc rate (26th)

Further complicating matters is the reality that the Bears posted such lowly numbers while blitzing at the league's ninth-highest rate. This defense couldn't consistently disrupt opposing passing games despite regularly devoting extra bodies to do just that! It's not surprising that a regular Round 1 match for the Bears in early mock drafts has been Ohio State DL Kayden McDonald.

Need 3: Offensive tackle

The Bears were forced to move LG Joe Thuney to left tackle in the Divisional Round after 2025 second-rounder Ozzy Trapilo suffered a ruptured patellar tendon. This leaves the team with a question mark surrounding who will be protecting Williams' blindside in 2026, although the group as a whole deserves a lot of credit for their 2025 performance:

PFF graded the Bears as the league's third-best offensive line overall
Williams was pressured on just 35.1% of his dropbacks—the ninth-lowest mark in the league.
Bears running backs averaged 1.8 rush yards before contact in 2025–a mark that only trailed the Bills and Rams.

Maybe Trapilo is good to go by Week 1 and this becomes a bit of a moot point, but at a minimum more depth should be added to keep this newfound strength STRONG in 2026 and beyond.

Honorable mention

The Bears have the flexibility to move on from some veterans and create cap space should they desire. With a post-June 1 cut…

LB Tremaine Edmunds ($2.4 million in dead money, $15 million in cap savings)
RB D'Andre Swift ($1.3 million in dead money, $7.5 million in cap savings)
TE Cole Kmet ($1.6 million in dead money, $10 million in cap savings)

Each of these positions would accordingly need some replacements should general manager Ryan Poles decide to open up some cap room. Some have also wondered if a change of scenery could be coming for DJ Moore, although his contract is tough to get out of without a trade.

If I were GM…

I'd strongly consider spending each of my three top-100 draft picks on the defense, ideally coming away with a potential Day 1 starters on the defensive line and at safety. This offense already looks fully capable of scoring with just about anyone when operating at peak performance; fortifying a defense that likely won't be able to lead the league in takeaways again should be priority numero uno throughout the offseason.

Players Mentioned in this Article

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