Chicago Bears

The Bears are squeezed to $7.5M in cap room, ranking last in the league, but committed money falls off a cliff after next season, setting up a real spending window ahead.

22 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Six starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Six picks this year including four selections in the first four rounds, plus 20 total across three years and three first-rounders in that span, gives Chicago one of the stronger draft pipelines available to a team in this competitive position.

• Traded away: Round 5 to Patriots, this draft

The roster's top strength is its interior offensive line headlined by the 96-overall Thuney and 90-overall Wright, while the right defensive edge, where the starter ranks 31st in the league, is the clearest weakness on the team.

• LThigh

  Ozzy Trapilo starts at left tackle ranked 29th among starters league-wide, making elite blindside protection for Williams the team's most urgent priority.

• REDGEhigh

  Dayo Odeyingbo starts at right edge with a 31st-ranked starter grade, leaving the right side of the pass rush dangerously thin against competent offenses.

• DTmedium

  Grady Jarrett is the starter at 81 overall, but the Bears rank last in the league in defensive tackle depth, meaning any injury would expose a dramatic drop-off.

• WRmedium

  Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are promising starters but the group ranks 26th in starter grade, and Williams needs more reliable weapons in the passing game.

• FSlow

  Xavier Woods holds the starting free safety spot at 78 overall, and while the starter is adequate, depth behind him is thin enough to flag as a low-severity concern.

• SSlow

  Dillon Thieneman starts at strong safety at 77 overall, and while the position is not a crisis, the starter ranks 23rd and depth is middling at 11th.

• 59Tyson BagentQBTyson Bagent sits third on the depth chart behind Williams and Keenum at 59 overall, and cutting him frees $3.3M against only $1.5M in dead money, making him an easy roster casualty.Frees $3.3M · $1.5M dead
• 73Dayo OdeyingboREDGEDayo Odeyingbo starts at right edge but ranks 31st in the league at his position, and while cutting him frees $9.5M, it comes with $11.0M in dead money, so this move requires careful cap timing.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, making him a clean cut with no cap consequence.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 65Josh BlackwellCBJosh Blackwell is a 65-overall corner buried on the depth chart who frees $1.8M against only $850K in dead money, representing a minor but clean cap savings.Frees $1.8M · $850.0K dead
• 65Nephi SewellWILLNephi Sewell is a 65-overall linebacker who appears in multiple depth chart spots without truly competing for a starting role, and cutting him frees $1.2M with zero dead money.Frees $1.2M · $0 dead

The Bears are built around one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the game in Caleb Williams, and the surrounding infrastructure is more developed than it first appears. Darnell Wright and Joe Thuney give him a strong right side and interior, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are ascending Star receivers, and Colston Loveland profiles as a long-term mismatch tight end. The challenge is that Thuney is entering the late stage of his career and will need a succession plan at guard within the next few seasons, and Jonah Jackson at right guard is also aging. The left tackle situation is the most pressing concern, with Ozzy Trapilo and Braxton Jones representing a placeholder solution rather than a legitimate answer. Defensively, Montez Sweat anchors the left edge but is in the aging window himself, Grady Jarrett provides veteran experience at defensive tackle but cannot be counted on as a long-term piece, and the right edge is the weakest position on the team. Cap space is at its tightest right now, sitting at $7.5M ranked last in the league, but committed money drops sharply after the next two seasons, opening a meaningful runway to re-invest. With three first-round picks in the next three years and 20 total selections across that span, the Bears have the draft resources to address every hole without sacrificing the young core.

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.