2026 Chicago Bears Offseason Thread

[bukie]

1 hour ago, Brian707 said:

I see the turf still is horsefeathers

I don't think we can eliminate the possibility that it is literally made up of horsefeathers.

[Wilson A2000]

2 hours ago, Brian707 said:

I see the turf still is horsefeathers

It’s a lot better than it used to be. It was terrible for the first game because the city had 3 concerts a week before the first game and the Bears have no control over that and the new sod didn’t have time to grow in. 

[Tryptamine]

So after a bunch of listening it sounds like this draft is very strong with LB, Safety, interior linemen and nose tackles. It's extremely weak in QB and lacks impact talent depth at EDGE and OT. I think there's a pretty good chance the Bears are going safety or LB at #25. Edge sounds like it's going to have to come via FA or trade.

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, bukie said:

I don't think we can eliminate the possibility that it is literally made up of horsefeathers.

I'd be curious to see all the field grades. Fake turf has become very unpopular too.

 

A lot of these categories in past are clearly not in a curve, so B+ is like median and C is basically an F.  Wouldn't be surprised if turf looked more like a normal grade curve where C was actually average. 

[WrigleyField 22]

And here you go. So at very least not bottom 10

 

[WrigleyField 22]

Full grades on everything. 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47987931/nfl-2026-report-cards-nflpa-32-teams

 

Re field, 14 teams got C+ or above. So Bears tied at C with a handful, and then I think 11 at C- or below.  Very few fake turf fields scored B range or above.  Detroit and Minny I think were the only fake turfs above Chicago, and a couple fake turfs tied. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

36 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

So after a bunch of listening it sounds like this draft is very strong with LB, Safety, interior linemen and nose tackles. It's extremely weak in QB and lacks impact talent depth at EDGE and OT. I think there's a pretty good chance the Bears are going safety or LB at #25. Edge sounds like it's going to have to come via FA or trade.

Im thinking DT. Address LB in FA. Safety in the 2nd. OT in the 1st 2 rounds should be on the table as well. Trapillo's injury threw a wrench into the plan for sure.

[Tryptamine]

1 hour ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Im thinking DT. Address LB in FA. Safety in the 2nd. OT in the 1st 2 rounds should be on the table as well. Trapillo's injury threw a wrench into the plan for sure.

From what was being said, there really aren't any plug and play LT that are going to be available. They're all going to be project guys who you're going to want to sit for a year.

[minnesotacubsfan]

2 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

So after a bunch of listening it sounds like this draft is very strong with LB, Safety, interior linemen and nose tackles. It's extremely weak in QB and lacks impact talent depth at EDGE and OT. I think there's a pretty good chance the Bears are going safety or LB at #25. Edge sounds like it's going to have to come via FA or trade.

what? EDGE is literally one of the (if not the) strongest positions in the draft. There are 6-8 that are rated in the top 32 picks

 

ETA: they list 7 in the top 32, and several more in the next 15 picks

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/positions/ALL/3/2026/RATING/DESC

 

Edited February 27 by minnesotacubsfan

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

From what was being said, there really aren't any plug and play LT that are going to be available. They're all going to be project guys who you're going to want to sit for a year.

Thuney can play LT. Are there RT?

[Tryptamine]

2 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

what? EDGE is literally one of the (if not the) strongest positions in the draft. There are 6-8 that are rated in the top 32 picks

 

ETA: they list 7 in the top 32, and several more in the next 15 picks

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/positions/ALL/3/2026/RATING/DESC

 

Just parroting what the 2 guys I've listened to have said, one of them on espn radio a day or two ago

[NorthsideAvenger]

53 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Thuney can play LT. Are there RT?

Bears already said Thuney will stay at LG in 2026. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 hour ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Bears already said Thuney will stay at LG in 2026. 

I would approach that based on what is available in FA and what they can get in the draft. If LT are scarce then I would grab the best OG I could and play him at LT. 

[Tryptamine]

If Kiran Amegadjie isn't ready to see the field in 2025, I think it's time to move on. Guy is in year 3, if he's still nothing but an emergency fill in then just open up the roster spot

[minnesotacubsfan]

3 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

Just parroting what the 2 guys I've listened to have said, one of them on espn radio a day or two ago

damn espn radio selling disinformation

 

(assumes everything on web is correct)

 

 

[Tryptamine]

I keep seeing the same 2 guys mocked to the Bears. 

DT Caleb Banks and DT Kayden McDaniel,

There are rare mocks out there with DT Lee Hunter, but right now if I'm picking for the Bears it's safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. I think the upside he brings is far more significant than the other 3.

[gflore34]

On 3/2/2026 at 1:02 AM, Tryptamine said:

I keep seeing the same 2 guys mocked to the Bears. 

DT Caleb Banks and DT Kayden McDaniel,

There are rare mocks out there with DT Lee Hunter, but right now if I'm picking for the Bears it's safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. I think the upside he brings is far more significant than the other 3.

I really like having a run-stuffer like McDonald in the middle.  Stopping the rush would go a long way towards making the Bears' defense, at least, average in 2026.

Edited March 5 by gflore34

[Bertz]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7077301/2026/03/02/bears-combine-caleb-williams-dj-moore/

Quote

 

Interpreting conversations across the league, it has become clear that Williams has earned his reputation as “dangerous.”

“I never saw him flinch,” one personnel man said. “That’s what you respect most. You could feel that confidence that he is never out of a game. There aren’t a lot of quarterbacks who operate that way.”

That same source referred to Williams’ off-schedule playmaking as “obscene.”

“The best I’ve seen,” he said. “Better than (Patrick) Mahomes. And I still don’t think his full arsenal has been fully unlocked.”

With Williams, it’s not just the Bears who now understand that they are never out of a game. Opponents now feel it, too, adding a psychological component to every game the Bears play. Said one AFC exec: “With guys like him, you feel constant pressure to have a two-score lead. And even when you have that, you’re not comfortable.”

 

 

[MidoreX]

Not technically bears news, but in the division...

The Lions just traded Montgomery to the Texans. Edit: updated terms from Schefter

 

Edited March 2 by MidoreX

[BigbadB]

We are one week away from the official legal tampering period of NFL free agency.

Probably have no idea yet how much money the Bears have to spend in free agency. I heard some reworked contracts and the new cap have created 85m in spendable money, but I can't confirm if that's true or not.

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

6 hours ago, gflore34 said:

I really like having a run-stuffer like McDaniel in the middle.  Stopping the rush would go a long way towards making the Bears' defense, at least, average in 2026.

Also, apparently its a really strong draft for safeties. If you see a DT you really like in the 1st, by all means grab him and wait until the 2nd for the safety

 

 

[MidoreX]

36 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

Also, apparently its a really strong draft for safeties. If you see a DT you really like in the 1st, by all means grab him and wait until the 2nd for the safety

 

 

It's a pretty deep draft at S, DT and Edge. Since we're at 25 instead of the top 10 I really like the idea of trading down to around 40 and seeing if you can get another pick or two in the first 100 back.

You can set yourself up pretty well with 5 picks between 40 and 100 instead of 3 with the supposed defensive depth this year. Unless, of course, a potential game changer falls to 25.

[Tryptamine]

Not having those 2 3rds for this draft is absolutely killing me

[WrigleyField 22]

7 hours ago, MidoreX said:

Not technically bears news, but in the division...

The Lions just traded Montgomery to the Texans. Edit: updated terms from Schefter

 

Thats crazy value to give up for Montgomery 

Edited March 2 by WrigleyField 22

[We Got The Whole 9]

58 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Not having those 2 3rds for this draft is absolutely killing me

Im sure the Ian Cunningham rule will be instituted to make sure it never happens again... its a complete horsefeathers joke.