Chicago Bears

With just $8.6M in cap room ranking 28th in the league, the Bears are tight right now, but commitments crater after year two and next year's room rises to $23.8M.

34 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Four starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Six picks in the current draft, including three first-rounders across the three-year horizon and 20 total picks, give this rebuild serious ammunition.

• Traded away: Round 5 to Patriots, this draft

The roster's top strength is its quarterback and interior offensive line combination, while the right edge spot, where the starter ranks 31st in the league, is the most glaring weak point.

• LThigh

  Ozzy Trapilo starts at left tackle but ranks 29th among starters, making a significant upgrade at the position the team's most urgent priority to protect Caleb Williams.

• REDGEhigh

  Dayo Odeyingbo starts at right edge and ranks 31st among starters league-wide, representing the thinnest spot on the entire defensive front.

• WRmedium

  Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are promising young starters, but the group ranks 25th among starters and needs a proven complement to lift the passing game.

• DTlow

  Grady Jarrett leads the rotation at a low-severity need, ranking 20th among starters, with Gervon Dexter providing solid developmental depth behind him.

• SSlow

  Dillon Thieneman starts at strong safety and ranks 23rd among starters, a manageable gap that depth additions can address.

• 59Tyson BagentQBTyson Bagent is a 59-overall third-string quarterback behind Caleb Williams and Case Keenum, and releasing him frees $3.3M against $1.5M in dead money.Frees $3.3M · $1.5M dead
• 73Dayo OdeyingboREDGEDayo Odeyingbo is a 73-overall starter at the team's weakest position, but his release carries $11.0M in dead money against only $9.5M freed, making a cut financially costly right now.Frees $9.5M · $11.0M dead
• 60Stephen CarlsonTEStephen Carlson is a 60-overall tight end sitting third on the depth chart behind Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet, and cutting him frees $1.1M with zero dead money.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 58Nikola KalinicTENikola Kalinic is a 58-overall tight end at the bottom of the depth chart who frees $1.0M with no dead money attached.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 62Maurice AlexanderWRMaurice Alexander is a 62-overall receiver who does not crack the active wide receiver rotation and frees $1.1M with no dead money.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

The Bears are positioned around one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the league in Caleb Williams, and the infrastructure around him is meaningful. Joe Thuney is a dominant guard but is deep into his career, so succession planning on the interior line must begin soon. Darnell Wright at right tackle and the young receiving duo of Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III give Williams real weapons to grow with. Colston Loveland adds a promising target at tight end at just 22 years old. The defensive core is functional, led by Jaylon Johnson at corner and Devin Bush at linebacker, though Montez Sweat and T.J. Edwards are contributors who are not getting any younger and will need successors over the medium term. The most pressing concerns are the left tackle spot, where Ozzy Trapilo is a 73-overall starter, and a right edge position that ranks near the bottom of the league. Cap room is tight at $8.6M this season, but commitments fall off sharply beyond the next two seasons, giving the organization room to maneuver heading into the back half of the five-year window when the young core hits its prime.

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.