Chicago Bears Q&A: Can this team be a serious contender in 2024 or ’25? What is the confidence level at Halas Hall?
After an offseason full of intrigue — from owning and trading the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft to a busy free-agent period to the preseason to roster cutdowns — the Chicago Bears finally can focus on their Week 1 assignment: the Green Bay Packers.
With the NFC North rivals set to open the season Sept. 10 at Soldier Field, Brad Biggs answers your Bears questions about the backup quarterback, the primary running back and more.
What are the chances the Bears are serious contenders in 2024 or 2025? — Dan G., Grayslake
A lot can happen between now and the start of next season, and two years is an eternity in the NFL. Remember how far the Bears went — in the wrong direction — from 2018 to 2020. Conversely, I can recall 2003, a 7-9 year in the final season for Dick Jauron. Two years later, it was an 11-5 team that would reach the Super Bowl the following year.
The Bears will field one of the youngest rosters in the league this season, and general manager Ryan Poles has shown he’s open to just about every imaginable way there is to build the roster. He also has shown — in more than 1 1/2 years on the job — that he’s able to stick to the plan. He has talked about the goal of building a consistent winner and hasn’t veered from that to go out and pay a veteran who might make the Bears better right now but won’t be the same player when the roster is ready to be really competitive. We’ll need more time to evaluate the draft classes. Three years will offer a good benchmark for a class, and remember he was short on draft capital in 2022.
Another point: There is a real imbalance in quarterbacks in the AFC and NFC, with maybe more disparity between conferences than there has been in a while. The AFC has Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa and Russell Wilson. Yes, Watson looked really rusty last season, and I have no idea if Wilson will recapture his previous magic. But for franchises in the AFC without a marquee quarterback, I have two words: Good luck. That was a list of 10 quarterbacks, in no particular order. Putting together a list of the five top quarterbacks in the NFC is a lot more challenging. I would start with Jalen Hurts. Then who? Matthew Stafford? Dak Prescott? Kirk Cousins?
I know bagging on Cousins tends to be sport, but his career numbers would make him an icon in Chicago. He would have owned every major career passing record in franchise history years ago had he been a Bear. Cousins has seven 4,000-yard seasons in the last eight years. Bears quarterbacks have combined for zero.
Cousins, 35, should not be hard to surpass in the near future, and the NFC is wide open this season and in the next couple of years because there simply aren’t many established elite quarterbacks. If Justin Fields can become that guy — and this season will be very telling — the Bears instantly will be an NFC contender. The same can be said of the situation in Green Bay with Jordan Love. If he develops quickly and really steps up, guess what? The Packers are would be perennial contenders again.
If you’re in the NFC and you get yourself an elite quarterback, in theory you’re looking at an easier path to playing in February.
Who will be the backup QB in Week 1? — Herb L., Evansville, Ind.
That is a mystery. But some clues can be instructive when looking ahead to the Packers game and wondering who will be behind Justin Fields. The Bears love everything about Tyson Bagent. That’s evident. He has exceeded probably even their greatest expectations. But GM Ryan Poles stopped short of naming him the No. 2 quarterback Wednesday, and the team re-signed Nathan Peterman to the 53-man roster Thursday morning.
“We have not decided that,” coach Matt Eberflus said after Thursday’s practice Thursday. “We’re sure glad to have (Peterman) back. He’s really good for that room. Him and Justin learned the offense together, so to speak, so they’re speaking the same language. So they understand it really well. It’s good to have him in the room.”
Why add Peterman to the roster and not the practice squad, where he spent the majority of last season?
“We wanted to secure him in that situation,” Eberflus said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future with who’s going to be up for the game, who’s going to be the backup. We’ll decide that as we go.”
If the Bears were convicted that Bagent would be the No. 2 to begin the season, I think they would have signed Peterman to the practice squad. Peterman has played in the NFL — not particularly well, but he has made five starts and appeared in 13 games and at this point has a greater understanding of the offense than Bagent.
My hunch is Peterman is the No. 2 quarterback early in the season, and if the Bears see growth from Bagent in practice — which will be tricky to evaluate because there isn’t a ton of work in practice — they will make a change accordingly. They’re fired up about Bagent’s future, and this scenario wouldn’t be a knock on him at all. I easily could see him being the No. 2 option before midseason. The Bears started Peterman in the season finale last year against the Minnesota Vikings but chose to stick with an injured Trevor Siemian in the Week 12 loss to the New York Jets after Siemian’s oblique went bad in warmups.
Assuming health, will the running back who starts the season as the primary ball carrier be the one who finishes it that way? — @phicago
Khalil Herbert is going to be the starting running back against the Packers on Sept. 10 at Soldier Field, and nothing leads me to believe he’s in danger of losing that role anytime soon.
Rookie Roschon Johnson had some impressive, physical runs in the preseason, but Herbert runs with pretty good contact balance himself and is a little ahead of Johnson in all areas of the passing game. Could this change? Sure, if Herbert puts the ball on the ground a couple of times in the first month, the coaching staff might make a move.
D’Onta Foreman figures to have a role as a short-yardage or goal-line back. The Bears like him because he’s pretty rugged between the tackles and tends to move the pile. The team has been pretty open about the backfield situation and said it’s going to be by committee. Running backs coach David Walker said that point-blank.
The Bears don’t have a Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey on the roster. That’s not a knock on the players they do have, it’s reality. So the number of touches each back gets on a weekly basis will probably be influenced by a variety of factors: game plan, game situation, who’s hot and, of course, health. The Bears view Johnson as a significant part of their future, and he could emerge during the season, but I’d expect Herbert to get the most touches in the early going.
What do you think is the level of confidence in the offense inside Halas Hall? — @tn5280
There’s no shortage of confidence inside the building, from the locker room to the coaches to the front office. The Bears believe they are in a significantly better position than they were a year ago. The roster is improved.
The players who remain have a year in the system with a coaching staff that had very little change beyond the addition of veteran Jon Hoke overseeing the secondary. The confidence in the building is a little more measured than some of the dreamy projections you can find elsewhere, but that’s probably not unusual.
“We’ll be able to evaluate (improvements) as we go through the season,” GM Ryan Poles said Wednesday. “But I feel good. Just on paper, I feel good about the progress and I feel we took a chunk out of what we needed to.”
What role will Velus Jones Jr. have for the Bears? — Soroush S., Geneva
The Bears have seven wide receivers on the 53-man roster, and I have a hard time envisioning all seven will be active on game day. It’s possible the Bears will have only five active for certain games. Jones’ best path to one of those spots is being the best option as a kickoff returner. Trent Taylor is going to be the punt returner for the foreseeable future, but he has returned only eight kickoffs in his career.
The Bears still want to develop Jones as a punt returner and believe an injury that sidelined him during training camp cut into needed developmental time. I’m not sure Jones’ instincts, ball tracking and decision making will ever come to fruition. He’s a threat with the ball in the open field but has been too shaky for them to roll with him to begin the season. While Jones is 26, he’s only in his second season, and Taylor is 29. The Bears invested a third-round pick in Jones, and I could see him playing a role on offense as a gadget player.
Your thoughts on Chris Jones in a Bears uniform? — @klbenterprise
It’s fun to dream, isn’t it? Now let’s get back to reality. Jones is one of the best defensive tackles in the league and can be a true game wrecker. He would upgrade any defense in the league. I doubt he’s available from the Kansas City Chiefs even though the sides are mired in a contract stare-down with the start of their season less than a week away — Thursday night against the Detroit Lions.
It would take some serious compensation to land Jones — IF the Chiefs were willing to deal him. Jones is entering his eighth season. How many prime years does he has left? Chiefs GM Brett Veach said this week that the team is hopeful to have Jones in place before the Lions game. That doesn’t sound like a man willing to consider a deal.
If the Bears were to trade for Jones — and I believe there is a 0% chance of this happening — they would have to give him a monstrous contract. What type of player will Jones be two or three years into that deal? Are the Bears hunting a Super Bowl this season? Probably not. Will they be next year? If everything goes right, chances would be a year away next year.
The Bears spent second- and third-round picks on Gervon Dexter and Zachh Pickens. They’re hoping both turn into building blocks for the future. Pickens flashed during the preseason. Dexter had his moments in training camp. In a perfect world, one of those guys becomes will be a Jones-like player for the Bears. If the Bears added Jones — and let me reemphasize this is unlikely — what happens to the plan of developing Dexter and Pickens?
Regarding these fanciful ideas, take a deep breath and say “make it make sense.” This doesn’t make sense. Not for the Chiefs. Not for the Bears. Not right now.
If Braxton Jones has to miss time at left tackle, who is next up? — @imtheomarshall
Jones was the only player on offense to be on the field for 100% of the snaps last season. He was one of the few durable linemen throughout training camp as well. In fact, Jones was the only starter by my count who didn’t miss at least some time with an injury.
I had questions about whether the swing tackle was on the roster. Larry Borom stepped up and earned the role. I’d expect Borom, who appeared in 23 games with 17 starts over his first two seasons, to be the next man up.
Which latest pickup will have the most impact? — @windycitydig
By latest pickup, I am assuming you are referring to interior offensive lineman Dan Feeney, whom the Bears acquired from the Miami Dolphins in a trade, punt returner/slot receiver Trent Taylor, who was signed after his contract was terminated by the Cincinnati Bengals, and defensive end Khalid Kareem (Indianapolis Colts) and safety Quindell Johnson (Los Angeles Rams), who were claimed off waivers.
Feeney projects as a backup at center and guard, something the Bears felt they needed, an experienced swing option. Taylor is probably the most obvious answer because he has a track record for success as a punt returner. He averaged 10.3 yards per return last season and 10.5 yards in the postseason over the last two years. The Bengals opted to go with rookie Charlie Jones, a fourth-round pick from Purdue. Taylor has experience with special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, having played for him with the San Francisco 49ers.
Kareem looks like a rotational guy once he gets up and running in the scheme, and in a perfect world (in which Dominique Robinson is improving), Kareem is probably not logging more than 30% of the snaps. Taylor, 29, probably will have the greatest impact this season — provided Feeney doesn’t have to play a lot — but I’m curious about Johnson. I’ll go out on a limb and say long term he will make the greatest impact. He’s a physical safety who is going to be a backup to start but he made 10 interceptions at Memphis, and the Bears had hoped to land him as an undrafted free agent. When the Rams waived him, they pounced. He was a playmaker on special teams in college with multiple blocks and should find a role for Hightower immediately.
Should we be worried about the injury to Teven Jenkins in Year 3, considering his injury history? @shawnbonnar
Yes. Jenkins missed 15 of the 34 games through two seasons and is beginning this season on injured reserve. GM Ryan Poles said Jenkins, who has a right leg injury, will be designated for return. IR rules dictate he miss a minimum of four games, at which point the team can open a practice window for him to return or move him to the active roster.
The Bears’ Week 5 game is Thursday, Oct. 5, against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field. In a short week, it’s unlikely the team will hold an actual practice. Generally, teams coming off a Sunday game and playing Thursday hold only walk-throughs. With this a road game, their schedule will be even more compact, making it difficult to activate Jenkins and get him up to speed. That would mean we’re looking at Jenkins possibly missing five games, maybe a sixth if he takes a little while to get up to speed.
Jenkins has been sidelined by back surgery as a rookie, a hip injury last year and then stingers at the end of the 2022 season. As former coach John Fox used to say, availability is the No. 1 ability, and Jenkins has not yet been able to conquer it. It’s unfortunate because Jenkins said he worked diligently this offseason in an effort to be healthier.
Against the Bills, Justin Fields, to me, looked like he was fundamentally the same player as last season. It reminded me of the Bears’ season opener against the Packers in 2019, when after a summer of hope it was immediately clear that Mitch Trubisky had not improved. Do you agree? — @brianpflaum1
There were a couple of questions along this line. It’s difficult for me to make any definitive judgments off 13 preseason snaps against the Bills. Add in another seven snaps in the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans and we’re talking about a super-small sample size. Fields is going to be improved because the Bears are better around him. DJ Moore is a legitimate threat at wide receiver, and the Bears don’t have a square peg in a round hole, which is where they were a year ago asking Darnell Mooney to be a No. 1 option. I’m not trying to knock Mooney but he’s a complementary wide receiver, as is Chase Claypool. Now they have a legitimate depth chart at the position, and it’s going to lead to something GM Ryan Poles and Fields have alluded to — more explosive plays. The line should be better, too, especially if first-round draft pick Darnell Wright is what the team expects. None of that answers questions about Fields’ ability to manage the pocket and decipher what coverages opponents are throwing at him pre- and post-snap, all issues that were stumbling blocks for Trubisky in Year 3. With the threat of Fields as a runner, the Bears have a lot of options, and I believe offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is going to be more creative and calculated with a passing game he can trust. We’ll have to wait and see how much improvement Fields makes. The real deal — regular-season games — is right around the corner.
Ryan Poles said on paper 75%-80% of the holes on the roster have been filled. What do you think comprises the 20-25% that still need to be filled? — @copperauggie
Poles and the rest of us will not know for sure until the season unfolds, but I would start with the defensive line. The addition of end Yannick Ngakoue boosts the pass rush, but he’s not someone you would put in the upper echelon of edge defenders in the league and he’s on a one-year contract.
I have questions about the ability of the defense to stop the run, largely because I’m not sure what they are going to get out of rookie tackles Gervon Dexter and Zachh Pickens. They might progress nicely and make a big difference.
The Bears were woeful against the run last season with Justin Jones and that is not a knock on him as much as an overview of the front as a whole, especially after linebacker Roquan Smith was traded. But Jones and free-agent pickup Andrew Billings, a classic nose tackle, aren’t going to dissuade opponents from attempting to run the ball on the Bears.
I’d imagine, in the grand scheme, Poles envisions some more moves for the offensive line after this season. Two of his top three receivers — Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool — are playing on expiring contracts.
Would the Dolphins have cut Dan Feeney if he hadn’t been traded? If so, the trade of a sixth-round draft choice would look particularly bad. — B. Miller, Evanston
Generally, players who are traded just before the reduction to 53-man rosters would have wound up being released. The Bears likely pulled the trigger on this deal because they didn’t want the Dolphins to find a deal with another team and miss out on Feeney. They prioritized the experience he has playing guard and center, especially with some of the injuries that have riddled the interior of the line.
I wouldn’t fret over the loss of a sixth-round pick. The Dolphins are paying about two-thirds of the contract for Feeney this season — he got a $2 million signing bonus from them — and the Bears are on the hook for just more than $1 million. If Poles wants to recoup a sixth-round pick, that will be easy to do during the 2024 draft. He has proved to be an active wheeler and dealer during the draft.
