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Bear Digest

Chicago Bears 2026 Training Camp Primer: The True Challenge Defined

A view from 30,000 feet of what the Bears face as they open training camp No. 2 under coach Ben Johnson aiming for a lofty goal.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams warms up with teammates during joint training camp practice with Buffalo last year.
Caleb Williams warms up with teammates during joint training camp practice with Buffalo last year. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

The Bears arriving Tuesday at Halas Hall face one overriding question in an attempt to achieve what the franchise hasn't since the Super Bowl team of the  2006 season. 

That is consecutive seasons with playoff berths, if not a long playoff run and appearance in the big game.  There are numerous issues confronting them in this quest. 

  • Is there sufficient defensive line talent to stop the run and also rush the passer from the edge or up the middle? 
  • Can they replace lost veteran leadership and proven talent like Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Tremaine Edmunds and DJ Moore? 
  • Can young second-year players or even rookies be the ones to step up and replace those veterans who departed or were dispatched? 
  • Is their offensive line sufficient to keep Williams protected and block for backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai with two different starters? 

The real question about his season

Each of these are problems they'll be trying to address without doubt, but they all are smaller sections of the much larger picture.  

The 30,000-foot view of this Bears season can best be summed up with one real question: 

Will the improvement the Bears expect in their second season operating with coach Ben Johnson's offense and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's scheme outpace the severity of the schedule they're facing. 

Barring a major series of devastating injuries, the Bears look to have talent sufficient for a second playoff run. Their experience from last year and improved speed can make for an elevated level of play.  

However, the schedule of a first-place team is meant to be difficult, and on paper it looks this way for the Bears. They're playing in a division NFL.com's Eric Edholm labeled the best from top to bottom. With all do respect to the NFC West, it's fourth-place team can't measure up to the NFC North. 

The Bears could be just as good as last year or better and still not win or make the playoffs because of the competitive balance within the division, and also because they're playing teams that won their division last year. Facing both Super Bowl teams, as well as the NFC North teams and Eagles is no simple matter. 

Preseason strength of schedule frequently means little. Last year the Bears were said to have the second-toughest schedule and it turned out to be the fourth easiest with a .458 winning percentage. Teams change from one year to the next. Sometimes those preseason strength of schedules hold true, sometimes they don't. 

What the Bears have to believe is it will be difficult and their perceived improvement needs to out pace the strength of the opponents to avoid regression. 

If it works out, something even more impressive than last year can happen, although probably not as heart-stopping on a weekly basis. That would be difficult to duplicate. The Bears under Johnson could do what no team since Lovie Smith's 2006 Bears did and win successive playoff berths, if not something even better. 

When Ben Johnson expects to see a team take shape

That's the macroview of their season's challenge. The microview, the one with all of the questions about Williams and their pass rush, gets addressed daily beginning Tuesday.

Johnson has a timeline in mind when he can start to see how uncertain positions are developing. From there, it will be easier to tell where everything is headed.  

"We'll have a good idea about halfway through training camp and probably going into that Cleveland game," Johnson said. "we'll have a number of padded practices, and usually the cream rises to the top once it turns into that, and guys will naturally rise. Some guys will fall. It won't take too long.  

"Last year's a good example. We had a left tackle battle that kind of went the length and plus some. So, hopefully that's not the case. You don't like that. You like to have a little clarity earlier on so that you can go into week one feeling pretty settled on every spot, but we'll do whatever it takes and as long as these competitions take to have some clarity, we'll do that.” 

If they get the answers they seek to every question, every position battle, the result can be special.

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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.

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