Bear Digest

Greatest Chicago Bears worries heading into 2025 regular season

Time is up and the Bears have what they have, but it's amazing how their biggest concerns remain exactly what they were coming out of free agency.
Gene Chamberlain|
How ready are the Bears really on offense or defense for the start of this season.
How ready are the Bears really on offense or defense for the start of this season. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Bears safety Kevin Byard on Monday spoke about how much practice is an indicator of success.

He wanted to say a good training camp just completed in terms of work output means the Bears are ready, but had to admit it doesn't always happen this way.

As evidence, he recalled playing for the Titans during the start of the COVID season when they were going to face Buffalo. The teams approached practices differently without a uniform approach to avoiding the illness.

"Buffalo went through their whole week, they practiced," Byard said. "Guys (teammates) were really kind of nervous because we hadn't practiced. I'm pretty sure that Buffalo was saying that we didn't practice and all that. And we beat them like 42-16. No practice."

It's unpredictable.

"I say that to say that you don't really know," Byard said. "There are times when you have a great week of practice. Before this last Friday's (Chiefs) game, we had great practices and stuff like that, we met good and all that stuff, and then it doesn't translate.

"But, you have to be process-driven instead of results-driven. We just have to make sure that we have good processes. After that, let the cards play out."

How the Bears will look when games count is unpredictable but it is amazing how little has changed about their outlook since the third or fourth week of preseason.

They went through the offseason, training camp and preseason hoping they had solved some of their biggest problems. Yet, almost all of the greatest concerns about the team heading into the season opener with Minnesota were issues they had to be worried about even after signing center Drew Dalman and trading for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney.

But after going through camp and preseason, they only seemed to add to their list of uncertainties.
These worries about the 2025 Bears could eventually cap their win total below .500. If they've found a way to address them, it could mean a playoff season.

7. Pass defense

This shouldn't even be on the list, but it is because of injuries. Jaylon Johnson will not be 100% even if he plays in the opener. Kyler Gordon just came back from injury. They lost top backup Terell Smith. New top backup Nahshon Wright just got exposed by the Chiefs as a step slow. It's amazing, but what could have been regarded as their greatest strength going into the offseason has emerged from preseason as a concern because of health.
The one thing that keeps it from being ranked a bigger concern is they expect these players will be healthy eventually. They hope.

6. Defensive scheme change

This suddenly is a defense that blitzes and plays either man-to-man or a fire zone. They all talk big about the pressure they can apply blitzing.
"We love to be able to pressure teams," Byard said.
Yet, these players weren't acquired for this type of scheme. They were drafted or signed to play largely zone schemes. Can this work? They had problems in preseason where was no rush.
"I mean, personally, I would love to just send four (rushers), and we all can drop in zones," Byard admitted. "If we can get home with four, we can really make a lot of plays on the ball."

You have to wonder if they've given up their strength to become gamblers and won't be able to back up this change.

5. Run defense

This should be better. It must because they went from No. 1 to No. 28 last season and the decline triggered an overall drop in the defense.
Grady Jarrett didn't play in preseason and his impact can be the pivot point for their run defense. The other is Andrew Billings being back from injury.
The only problem here is no one has seen this full group work new techniques up front to stop the run. It could be these worried immediately vanish once the season begins. Then again, maybe it won't.

4. Power runner

When Johnson became head coach, everyone wanted to know where he would get his "Knuckles." That's the David Montgomery role in his offense.
Roschon Johnson did nothing after Aug. 7 due to injury so there's no real indication if he could do it. Kyle Monangai was injured and missed the last two preseason games after showing promise.
The running game makes Johnson's passing game work because so much depends on play-action passing. They're counting on an entirely unproven quantity here and as they head into the regular season injuries are limiting the running game to the extent that Monday they had two healthy running backs.

3. Edge Rush

They paid Dayo Odeyingbo like a proven edge player and he was ascending but not proven. His pass rush isn't his strength. It's true Austin Booker had four sacks and looked great as a third edge rusher during preseason but he looked good last preseason and never made an impact.
This is a position they should have addressed with a legitimate edge rusher near the top of the draft but chose other needs. Now they have to wonder if they have answers after Booker fizzled last year following his good start and has suffered a knee injury this preseason.
Poles and even Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen like talking about the importance of the interior rush.
That's fine, but the interior rush men do not pile up sacks. Those who do are like gold. It's on Montez Sweat to be what they expected in 2023 when they traded for him and for Odeyingbo to ascend as a run stopper and pass rusher. Their finish against Kansas City in preseason wasn't exactly encouraging as they had the two worst Pro Football Focus grades of all the Bears defensive linemen who played.

2. Pass blocking

Williams didn't sack himself 68 times.
The Bears haven't really unveiled their offensive line in games yet because Thuney didn't play in preseason, only in practices. It's not the guards or centers who are questions. The entire left tackle drama of training camp wound up right where it began, and Braxton Jones needs to be at least as good as last year if not better.
The three options they looked at besides Jones are entirely raw. While Theo Benedet looked best of the backups in preseason, they'll need the experienced of Jones to carry them in order to avoid an obvious weakness for offenses to exploit.

1. New offense for Caleb Williams

In Year 2, improvement from the Bears starter should be anticipated. Even Justin Fields and Mitchell Trubisky enjoyed big leaps in passer rating during their second seasons—Trubisky's climbed 17.9 points to 95.4. Fields' 12 points to 85.2. Second-year starters generally seem great improvement in key statistics. Both of them had new offenses in Year 2.
Yet, Williams looked every bit as inconsistent in preseason as last regular season. It's a new offense. Williams has to see defenses better, make quicker decisions with the football, not run himself into sacks and get his footwork down on throws. Apparently, he also must still learn the offense better because they're not getting to the line of scrimmage to snap the ball fast enough.


All of the garbage about the 2024 draft and Williams' father will be rehashed in the next week just because ESPN has the telecast of the first game and Seth Wickersham's book dealing with Williams is just out, but it's ancient history.

What is important is what he is doing now and whether he can be better in the immediate future. Will he?

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.