Every Position Where Bears Could Still Add Help After 53-Man Roster Cuts

One of the most important deadlines of the 2026 NFL offseason has come and gone, as the Chicago Bears whittled their roster down to 53 players on Sunday.

When it comes to who was kept and cut on the 53-man roster, most of what we expected to happen transpired, but there were also some surprises in the group. In case you missed it, you can check out the entire 53-man roster right here.

When going position by position, it's clear the Bears have some lingering concerns they need to address, whether that be via trade, free agency, or the waiver wire on Monday.

Let's dive into the details and see which Bears position groups need to be addressed the most before Week 1.

Running back

Who Bears kept: D'Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Roschon Johnson

RoschonJohnson wins the RB3 battle over Salvon Ahmed, even though Ahmed was the better runner throughout the offseason.

Johnson's special teams prowess was likely what put him over the top. That said, he still leaves a lot to be desired as a runner and if Johnson is pushed into action because of injury, there's a better chance than not he's going to disappoint.

Because of how good the Bears are atop the depth chart with Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift, we don't think Chicago will add a back to the 53-man roster. Look for Ahmed to be added to Chicago's practice squad instead.

Defensive Tackle

Who Bears kept: Grady Jarrett, Jordan van den Berg, Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, Jayden Loving

Trading Gervon Dexter to the Atlanta Falcons has left the Bears' defensive line in an even shakier spot than it was before, when questions lingered about generating pressure and defending against the run, both of which were issues in 2025. Now, the Dexter trade has weakened Chicago's pass-rush even more.

By the looks of it, the Bears are going to depend on rookies like Jordan van den Berg and Jayden Loving, and a career backup in Neville Gallimore to pick up the slack with Dexter gone.

We love the promise van den Berg and Loving showed in training camp and the preseason, but the reality is there's no knowing how either one will pan out. Gallimore is more proven than those two, but he's best suited as a backup and has the same run defense issues Dexter had.

We don't know if the Bears have something cooking behind the scenes, but they need to add to this group, and preferably a starter-caliber player.

Edge Rusher

Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker. — Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) is sacked by Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker (94) and suffers a concussion during the second quarter of their game Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Who Bears kept: Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah

Injured: Shemar Turner (PUP)

Surprise, surprise, edge rusher joins the Bears' list of the biggest concerns the team still has going into the start of the season. This position, along with the interior of the defensive line, has been one of the team's top concerns throughout the offseason.

Led by Montez Sweat, this group's issue is who lines up across from him. The jury is still out on Austin Booker being adequate enough to fill that role, and Dayo Odeyingbo coming off a torn Achilles after a season in which he posted one sack in eight games doesn't instill much confidence.

Jamree Kromah is a nice story after he pulled off an upset to make the cut, but neither he nor Daniel Hardy are anything more than backups.

Maybe Booker ends up being what the Bears are looking for in this spot and/or "motivated Dayo" comes through and returns to his 2023 form.

However, maybes aren't good enough at this juncture and the Bears could use a player with a history of more consistent production at one of the most important positions.

Cornerback

Who Bears kept: Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad, Clark Phillips, Josh Blackwell

Injured: Kyler Gordon (PUP), Jaylon Jones (IR)

It looks like rookie Malik Muhammad could be pushed into a huge role right out of the gate, unless one of Cam Lewis or Xavier Woods gets pushed into the slot cornerback spot.

With Kyler Gordon landing on the PUP list, he'll be out for the first four games. Jaylon Jones, who was also seeing first-team reps in the slot this offseason, was placed on injured reserve, although it isn't clear if he was given the designation to return. At the very least, Jones will miss the first four games, also.

Nevertheless, Chicago's dependence on a wild card like Muhammad for such a big role is at least a bit concerning.

Not only do we now know what to expect from the rookie, the Bears also don't have him as a contingency plan if Tyrique Stevenson falters again this season.

Clark Phillips and Josh Blackwell are nice players, but there could be issues if either one has to step up into a starting role for any reason, whether that be injury or ineffectiveness from the guys ahead of them.

Here's another spot where the Bears could use a veteran and more than just a practice squad body.

Linebacker

Who Bears kept: Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards, D'Marco Jackson, Keyshaun Elliott

The surprise here was that the Bears didn't keep a fifth linebacker. That's important to note because if one of the top three of Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards or D'Marco Jackson suffer an injury, Chicago will need an unknown in rookie Keyshaun Elliott to step up.

We thought Chicago would keep at least one of Jack Sanborn or Ruben Hyppolite, but the former was cut outright and the latter was waived with an injury designation.

We're likely looking at a practice squad addition at the position, and we'd peg Sanborn as that guy. As a vested veteran, Sanborn doesn't have to be claimed off waivers, so the Bears can sign him whenever.

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