OTAs Could Decide the Fate of These 4 Chicago Bears Roster Bubble Players

The Chicago Bears report for Offseason Team Activities (OTAs) next week. They successfully increased the level of competition across their entire roster this offseason, and a few key players will need to fight for their spots if they want to stick around.

We've already covered some of the players who were put on the hot seat after the draft. However, the pressure is really on for players whose roster status is on the line.The fringe-starters are fighting for their legacy, while the roster hopefuls are fighting for their livelihood.

It would be fair to say that every player on the roster bubble needs to make the most of every opportunity. However, I wanted to focus on the players who could have a sneaky impact for Chicago this year if they do stick around.

Jedrick Wills Jr.

Jedrick Wills Jr. was a worthwhile free agent dart throw for the Bears. With his contract coming in at just over the veteran minimum salary, he's a low-cost, potentially high-reward band-aid addition that could hold down the left tackle position until Ozzy Trapilo returns to the lineup from his ruptured patellar tendon.

Braxton Jones definitely has the inside track at the starting left tackle job, but it's worth noting that he was in a similar spot at this time last season. Wills was previously a league-average starting left tackle, and that caliber of player tends to make much more than a veteran minimum salary.

Unfortunately for Wills, they're not the only two players vying for positioning at left tackle. Theo Benedet also got brought back this offseason. They have yet to pull the plug on the Kiran Amegadgie experiment, as well. And then there's the fact that the offensive line, as a whole, becomes a numbers game. How many tackles are they going to keep? How many guards? Can they afford to keep 11 big guys up front just to avoid cutting ties with quality depth?

Terell Smith

Terell Smith has shown flashes whenever he's been healthy throughout his career. Unfortunately, the main knock against Smith is that he's never been able to stay on the field. He's played a grand total of 582 snaps over his first three seasons.

He was reportedly pushing Tyrique Stevenson for the starting outside cornerback job before tearing his patellar tendon last preseason. He has one of the most volatile outlooks of any player on the Bears' roster entering OTAs. There's a chance that he could start opposite Jaylon Johnson if he shows up healthy and ready to play, but his odds of getting cut ahead of the 53-man roster cut-down appear to be just as strong.

Smith is entering the final year of his rookie contract. This could really be his last chance to show that he can make a name for himself as a starter in the league. He's shown enough promise to (probably) stick around as a backup somewhere, but he might not have any control over his destiny as a back-of-the-roster player for a different team.

Kentavius Street

Kentavius Street has never been flashy and has never put up gaudy statistics. However, he's consistently been an underrated presence on the respective defensive lines he's played on.

Street played just under half of the Falcons' defensive snaps over the seven games he was active for last season. He played a third of the defensive snaps in the 13 games he was active in 2025 and over half of them (52%) in 2023. He had similar splits with the 49ers and Saints before going to Atlanta, as well. He's a solid rotational piece.

While Street has an inside track at one of the backup DT jobs, his roster spot is far from set in stone. He and fellow free agent acquisition James Lynch will probably be fighting for one spot (assuming sixth-round selection Jordan van den Berg is a roster lock after they traded up for him). Whichever player shows more flashes will probably be the one who sticks around.

Ruben Hyppolite II

Ruben Hyppolite II is in a precarious situation. In an ideal world, the Bears' coaching staff would definitely love last year's fourth-round pick to show some promise in 2026. However, if their offseason additions to the linebacker room are any indication, it feels safe to assume that they're not planning to hold their breath. They're not going to slow down just so the 24-year-old can catch up.

Hyppolite's chances of both making the roster and carving out a respectable role for himself are by far the worst of the four players on this list. He was already firmly behind D'Marco Jackson, and I like Keyshaun Elliott's odds of overtaking him relatively quickly.

However, with T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell both recovering from serious injuries, Hyppolite's chances of seeing the field early in the year are much higher than they otherwise would've been. He'll just have to bring his A-game if he wants to have any semblance of a second-year breakout.

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Jedrick Wills Jr.

Terell Smith

Kentavius Street

Ruben Hyppolite II

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