Bears' Biggest Concerns Ahead of Training Camp After What We Saw at OTAs, Minicamp

Injuries and uncertainty at multiple positions headline our biggest concerns for the Chicago Bears ahead of training camp next month.

Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. | David Banks-Imagn Images

After completing mandatory minicamp last week, the Chicago Bears are now in the midst of their long summer break, which is going to run until late July, when training camp begins.

After going through OTAs and minicamp, we have at least a bit better idea about where things stand when it comes to some of Chicago's competitions and injuries. That said, nothing can be written in stone until we see how things unfold at camp.

For now, let's take a look at what we're most concerned about ahead of training camp next month after everything that went down during the offseason program over the past month.

Injuries in the secondary

Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon. | Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Not only was Kyler Gordon dealing with an injury during the Bears' offseason program, but his potential backup and the team's top backup at safety, Cam Lewis, has been sidelined, also.

Gordon has been dealing with a soft-tissue injury since at least May and he did not take part in OTAs or minicamp, much to the chagrin of head coach Ben Johnson.

It's still early, but this is clearly an ominous sign for a player who appeared in just three games last season due to injury.

Lewis' injury remains unknown after he exited an OTAs practice early in the first week. He has not practiced since then.

We'll have a very close eye on both Lewis and Gordon when the Bears reconvene for training camp late next month.

The defensive line

Chicago Bears defensive line Shemar Turner. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The same concerns for this group from the start of the offseason still apply. Chicago didn't make any moves at edge rusher and the team failed to adequately address the interior of the defensive line.

We still don't see where the improvement is going to come from when it comes to Chicago's issues with getting after the quarterback and stopping the run.

At edge rusher specifically, we saw good and bad news during the offseason program.

The good news is Dayo Odeyingbo (Achilles) is ahead of schedule and was practicing at mandatory minicamp, but the bad news is Shemar Turner (knee) wasn't and there is no clear timetable for Turner's return.

“We'll see with Shemar, this summer's going to be a big part for him," Johnson said. "We'll have a good six weeks off of see where he's at when we come back to camp."

Turner and Odeyingbo are two of the guys Chicago is depending on to provide more juice opposite Montez Sweat, along with Austin Booker.

Uncertainty at left tackle

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Braxton Jones. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Braxton Jones looks to be ahead of the pack when it comes to the left tackle competition that also appears to include Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills, although we've seen differing reports on who else exactly is involved.

The Bears have raved about how Jones has looked this offseason, but until we actually see him rebound following what was a down campaign in 2025, we can't say for sure that he will.

Along with that, another troubling thing about left tackle is Jones' competition isn't great.

Benedet was bad on the left side last season, Wills' entire career has been a disappointment and Amegadjie is a total wild card, so Jones winning the battle doesn't tell us much.

Injuries at linebacker

Chicago Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

We know T.J. Edwards (leg) is ready to rock for training camp after he was a participant in mandatory minicamp. However, he's one of the few sure things Chicago has at the position right now.

That's because the group has been plagued by injury. D'Marco Jackson suffered an apparent shoulder injury on Day 1 of the team's minicamp and Ruben Hyppolite and Keyshaun Elliott weren't able to take part in any of the three sessions.

Adding to all that, we know Noah Sewell is working his way back from a torn Achilles and there's no telling when he'll be ready to contribute this season.

It what could be an ominous sign for the health of the group, the Bears inked All-UFL linebacker Tony Fields in free agency.

Another cornerback question mark

Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

We've already gone over the concern with Gordon, but he is not the only one at cornerback.

Chicago has a competition going on opposite Jaylon Johnson that includes rookie Malik Muhammad and veteran Tyrique Stevenson.

The problem there is that Stevenson's offseason has garnered mix results thus far and we have not heard much about Muhammad, which might be an indication he isn't showing much early on.

That's not to say we're panicking about Muhammad's future, but the Bears need him to step up if he's going to win the job right away and provide the kind of upgrade Chicago needs over Stevenson.

As of right now, we're not as bullish on Muhammad as we were at the outset of the offseason program and it's looking more and more like Stevenson is going to win the starting job, which is a problem if he plays like he did in 2025.