Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

After missing rookie minicamp, OTAs, and the early portion of training camp with a hamstring injury, Burden entered the season playing catch-up. Rather than rushing the process, he focused on building trust with offensive play-caller Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams, and wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. That patience paid off. As the season progressed, Burden transitioned from a rotational weapon into a reliable weekly target, no longer resembling a first-year player by the stretch run.

Keenan Allen's time with the Chicago Bears was short-lived, but memorable. Allen caught 70 passes for 744 yards in 15 games with Chicago in 2024. He caught seven touchdowns and threw the most random interception you'll ever see. But more than that, he provided a security blanket for Caleb Williams as a rookie quarterback and leadership for a team that needed it in the worst way.

A knee injury sidelined Booker for the first eight weeks of the season, but he made his presence known quickly, recording a sack and forced fumble in his season debut against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9. Booker was held out of the sack column on the stat sheet in his next five games, but finished the season strong. Headlined by a two-sack performance against the Cleveland Browns in December, Booker finished the season on a high note with a stellar five-game run.

In addition to his ball-hawking skills, Kevin Byard III provided the Chicago Bears with invaluable leadership, often placing him at the center of pre-game huddles as the team rattled off 11 wins en route to an NFC North title and a playoff victory against the Green Bay Packers. The veteran safety is on an expiring contract. So if 2025 was Byard's final season in Chicago, he'll be missed by Bears fans.

When I was getting the call, my TV was a little delayed, and the Chicago Bears, I thought that they were up. And when I got the phone call I thought that it was the Chicago Bears. And they told me it was the New England Patriots, I was smiling but my heart sunk at the same time. Because during the draft process everyone was telling me Patriots is the last team, the last one that you want to go to.

While the Bears found success with Montez Sweat, their edge pass-rush rotation was otherwise limited, as no other edge rusher with at least 100 pass-rush snaps posted a pass-rush win rate above 10%. Ultimately, Chicago finished just 29th in pressure rate (31.1%) during the regular season, highlighting the need for a game-breaking presence off the edge. Reuniting Hendrickson with his former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, makes sense.

He had a tremendous season. He was an absolute turnover machine. The Bears, they didn't do a great job between the 20s. OK? The ball was move a lot. But when it came down to turning the ball over, they were better than every team in the league and he was a huge reason why. Intercepting passes, strip sacks, fumbles, fumble recoveries. What he did on a vet minimum contract or something like that, but

When Patrick wrote his quick look at the Chicago Bears salary cap situation, OverTheCap's projections had the 2026 NFL salary cap pegged at $295.5 million. That the projected range for the 2026 range starts at $301.2 million is significant news on its own. It would be helpful for the Bears if the league settles on a $301.2 million number for 2026. But if that number can stretch to $305.7 million, I think folks would be doing cartwheels at Halas Hall.

The matchup is set for Super Bowl LX. Unfortunately, it does not feature the Chicago Bears. Instead, it will be the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks squaring off for the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 8. In the meantime, the Bears (and 29 other NFL teams) are in full-on offseason mode. It's not where I'd rather be, but that is neither here nor there.

Hoecht's not here right now,

CHICAGO -- Linebacker T.J. Edwards will not be back in the Chicago Bears lineup for the remainder the postseason. Edwards needed to be helped off the field and taken to the locker room on a cart during the Bears' stunning 31-27 comeback win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. Chicago coach Ben Johnson did not have a positive update on his condition after the victory.

A game that saw Caleb Williams throw for a season-high 330 yards and lead five scoring drives to combat a high-powered San Francisco 49ers offense should seemingly have been enough for the Chicago Bears to run out of Levi's Stadium on Sunday night with the type of come-from-behind victory that has become the norm for them in 2025. Instead, a 42-38 loss knocked the playoff-bound Bears out of contention for the NFC's No. 1 seed, with several defensive players shouldering the blame for Chicago failing to earn its 12th win of the season.

Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III suffered a quad injury Sunday night that is not thought to be serious, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Burden suffered the injury on the final play of Chicago's 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He attempted to walk off the field with trainers but eventually needed to be carted to the Bears' locker room. Burden, who also missed Chicago's Week 16 game with an ankle injury, will undergo additional testing Monday, the source told Schefter.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Chicago Bears continue to deal with an illness that has impacted at least eight players ahead of their Sunday night meeting with the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears added wide receivers DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus to the injury report Sunday morning with an illness and designated both as questionable. The team already ruled out Rome Odunze (foot) for a fourth straight game.

This is not about leverage. We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights.

I've seen enough of J.J. McCarthy. On a weekend where draftmates Bo Nix and Drake Maye assumed full command of the AFC, there was the Vikings quarterback playing football as if he had acute lead poisoning. I'm gonna try to describe McCarthy's performance in the space below, but really words don't do it proper injustice. You had to watch. You had to sit there for three miserable hours, beholding a game in which McCarthy gave the home crowd exactly one moment worth cheering for.