Chicago Bears

The Bears enter this season with just $630K in cap room, ranking dead last in the league, making every roster move a careful juggling act from day one.

20 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Five starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Six picks this year including three first-rounders gives Chicago an exceptional resource base to fast-track the rebuild around Caleb Williams.

• Traded away: Round 5 to Patriots, this draft

The roster's top strength is the offensive interior anchored by Thuney at 96 overall and Wright at 91, while the left tackle and right defensive end positions are the weakest spots on the depth chart.

• LThigh

  Ozzy Trapilo starts at 73 overall ahead of Braxton Jones at 74, ranking 29th among starting left tackles, making this the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• REDGEhigh

  Dayo Odeyingbo leads a thin group at 73 overall and the Bears rank 31st at the position among starters, with Shemar Turner the best hope for internal development behind him.

• FSmedium

  Coby Bryant starts at 77 overall but the Bears rank 24th at the position, and the depth behind him offers limited proven options.

• WRmedium

  Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are both 82 overall and developing, but the Bears rank 26th at the position among starters and the group lacks an established alpha threat.

• SSlow

  Dillon Thieneman starts at 77 overall with a Star dev trait, but the Bears rank 23rd at the position and Elijah Hicks at 67 provides thin insurance behind him.

• 59Tyson BagentQBTyson Bagent is the third-string quarterback at 59 overall behind Williams and Keenum, and releasing him frees $3.3M against just $1.5M in dead money.Frees $3.3M · $1.5M dead
• 73Dayo OdeyingboREDGEDayo Odeyingbo starts at REDGE despite ranking 31st in the league at the position, but releasing him carries $11.0M in dead money against $9.5M freed, making this a cut that costs more than it saves in year one.Frees $9.5M · $11.0M dead
• 62Brittain BrownHBBrittain Brown sits third on the halfback depth chart at 62 overall and releasing him frees $1.1M with zero dead money left on the books.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 65Josh BlackwellCBJosh Blackwell is buried in the cornerback group at 65 overall and releasing him frees $1.8M against only $850K in dead money.Frees $1.8M · $850.0K dead
• 65Nephi SewellWILLNephi Sewell appears as a depth linebacker at 65 overall across multiple spots and releasing him frees $1.2M with no dead money.Frees $1.2M · $0 dead

Chicago is built around one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the league in Caleb Williams, and the supporting cast is younger and more talented than it might appear on first glance. Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III are both 22 with Star dev traits, Rome Odunze is 24 with a Star dev trait, and Darnell Wright anchors the right tackle spot at 25, meaning the offensive core should grow together through the prime years of this window. Jeffery Simmons makes the defensive interior elite, and the cornerback group with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon is a real strength. The areas demanding attention are the left tackle spot, where Ozzy Trapilo is a placeholder starter at 73 overall, and the right defensive end group, which ranks 31st in the league. Joe Thuney is entering the final stage of his career and his decline will need to be managed carefully after anchoring the early seasons of this window. The cap situation is extremely tight right now, but committed dollars fall sharply after next season, and judicious cuts and restructures can create room to address the trenches. The draft capital available across six picks this year, including three first-rounders, gives the organization real tools to accelerate the rebuild around Williams.

The Bears are one of pro football's two surviving charter franchises. Founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys, sponsored by the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, the team joined the American Professional Football Association (renamed the NFL in 1922) on September 17, 1920, for a $100 franchise fee. In 1921 owner A.E. Staley handed the club to player-coach George "Papa Bear" Halas, who moved the team to Chicago's Wrigley Field and renamed them the Chicago Bears in 1922. Halas served the franchise as owner, player, coach and executive from 1920 until his death in 1983, retiring as coach after the 1967 season with a then-record 324 wins. The early Bears dominated the young NFL behind Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski, and the Sid Luckman-led T-formation teams of the 1940s won four championships. In all, the Bears have won nine NFL championships, eight before the AFL-NFL merger (1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1963) plus Super Bowl XX, second only to the Green Bay Packers. The modern high point came in 1985: Mike Ditka's 15-1 team deployed Buddy Ryan's "46 defense," recorded "The Super Bowl Shuffle," and demolished the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX behind MVP Richard Dent. The Bears returned to the Super Bowl in the 2006 season under Lovie Smith and Brian Urlacher, losing 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI. Lean years followed a 2010 NFC Championship Game appearance, and the Bears did not win a playoff game between the 2010 and 2024 seasons, a drought finally broken in January 2026 with a wild-card win over Green Bay.