Bear veteran players on offense from Caleb Williams to Cole Kmet and DJ Moore have had the opportunity to express excitement after talking with coach Ben Johnson about his plans for the attack.
Now a veteran with the defense seems as charged up over coordinator Dennis Allen's plans.
Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon figures in prominently and was among the first players Allen mentioned when he officially became defensive coordinator.
"Kyler Gordon, is an outstanding nickel player," Allen said. "I have a vision for how we can utilize him."
Although players are not yet allowed to work out at Halas Hall, they will next month and Gordon already had a conversation with Allen.
"I like the way he’s talking already," Gordon said. "So we’ve had a lot of good talk. I’ve watched his previous defenses and stuff like that, so I already kind of trying to figure out where and how I would look in a defense like that.
"I think there’s going to be a lot of special things that me and him could do together and as a whole entire defense. So, just excited to see how he puts everything together."
The general idea of their discussion involved a favorite topic of defensive backs everywhere—turnovers.
"That’s what we talked about, slowly elevating our DB group because you know we have a really great group of guys, do a lot of special things, so it’s just about increasing that number of takeaways and production for our group," Gordon said.
The slot cornerback can be a real catalyst for this in Allen's scheme.
“For me this year it’s definitely turnovers," Gordon said. "I was trying to find production a lot this year, just trying to get to the ball, whether it’s going away from me or not. Definitely turnovers are my biggest thing because if we turn the ball over that’s the biggest thing for the game of football.”
Turnovers is an especially touchy topic with Gordon because for the first time in his three seasons he failed to come away with an interception in 2024. He rated extremely high on Pro Football Focus defensive grades, forced a fumble and recovered three, but no picks.
“For me this year it’s definitely turnovers," said Gordon, who was this year's Ed Block Courage Award winner. "I was trying to find production a lot this year, just trying to get to the ball, whether it’s going away from me or not.
"Definitely turnovers are my biggest thing because if we turn the ball over that’s the biggest thing for the game of football.”
It still irks Gordon how the defense came up well short of its goal last year of 20 fumble recoveries and 20 interceptions. They had 11 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries.
Slot blitzes, more press coverage and a better pass rush could lead to more in 2024.
"Do I look at that? Yes," Gordon said. "Do I want to be used to my max potential? Yes. That’s what I was kind of speaking on as far as Dennis Allen. I feel like he’s got a lot of creative ways and a lot of things that we can do, so I think we’re going to do a lot of good things."
If it happens, maybe Gordon will get his contract extension. It's not going to be an easy deal to do now that the Bears have spent down to $16.1 million and just over $10 million in effective cap space—the total minus their rookie pool—according to Overthecap.com. They may need to restructure some contracts to get this accomplished.
"Like I’d be extremely happy if it happened now,” he said. ”If it didn’t happen, I’ve still got to go to work regardless. So, whatever it may be, my attitude’s going to be positive regardless."
If he achieves higher personal numbers, the cost could really soar for the Bears. Dallas 29-year-old free agent Jourdan Lewis just received the highest contract for a slot cornerback in the NFL at three years and $30 million from Jacksonville. Gordon has been in the league only three years and hasn't even hit his prime but was graded well above Lewis by Pro Football Focus last year.
So it could become a huge Bears expense. They're already down to almost $49 million in cap space for 2026 after their signings this year, with a huge contract also awaiting guard Joe Thuney if he's extended. The money could get tight.
Gordon says he's focused on his task ahead and not the money, yet.
"I feel like whenever you get a new coaching staff or new people around you, I feel like I'm an optimistic person," Gordon said. "So definitely change is good, especially change in what was bad, being able to go in there and clean out and gut out whatever we had that was bad and kind of fixing the holes that we need can be very good for our team.
"So I'm very optimistic about the new coaches we have, what they bring, their perspective, and just what more I can learn as a player from them."
Along the way, learning he has become very wealthy wouldn't be bad, either.
