The Chicago Bears have finalized the 2025 Draft class and made a handful of undrafted free agent signings to get the roster to 89 players as of Monday morning.
Which means what we're seeing now is the updated comprehensive view of the potential 2025 roster heading into the summer. Looking way ahead to the end of the summer, let's take this opportunity to project the 53-man roster and potential cuts.
Note: Players with a single asterisk (*) are 2025 draft picks and players with double asterisks (**) are 2025 undrafted free agents.
Quarterback (3)
IN: Caleb Williams, Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent
OUT: Austin Reed
The skinny: No changes were expected to take place in this room during the draft. Caleb Williams is set up to have a much improved 2025 season in Year 2 and will actually have a veteran presence behind him in Case Keenum. Even after the Keenum addition, Tyson Bagent has a shot to stick around. The team loves Bagent and I can see Austin Reed coming back again on the practice squad too.
Running Back (4)
IN: D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai*, Travis Homer
OUT: Ian Wheeler
The skinny: Keeping four running backs based on the current roster makes sense. I feel like Kyle Monangai will jump Roschon Johnson on the depth chart fairly soon and be the one to take considerable carries alongside D'Andre Swift. As for Travis Homer, the Bears bringing him back to begin with is a good sign of his special teams value. Sucks having to cut Ian Wheeler, but I hope he sticks around on the practice squad.
Wide Receiver (5)
IN: DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III*, Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay
OUT: Tyler Scott, Miles Boykin, Samori Toure, Maurice Alexander, John Jackson, J.P. Richardson**, Jahdae Walker**
The skinny: The addition of Luther Burden III this group was a shock, but a welcomed move for what he brings to the offense. Ben Johnson is going to go nuts scheming up plays for him, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. I'm keeping both 2025 free agents signings over Tyler Scott. But, the Bears will have a talented practice squad at WR.
Tight End (3)
IN: Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland*, Durham Smythe
OUT: Stephen Carlson, Joel Wilson, Jordan Murray
The skinny: The tight end position is now set after the selection of Colston Loveland in the first-round and the 12-personnel Ben Johnson is set to deploy is going to be terrifying for opposing defenses. Even with Cole Kmet and Loveland at the top of the position, I still see Durham Smythe making it through given his history with Johnson and his ability to be a capable blocker inside.
Offensive Line (10)
IN: Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright, Kiran Amegadjie, Ozzy Trapilo*, Ryan Bates, Doug Kramer, Luke Newman*
OUT: Jordan McFadden, Ricky Stromberg, Theo Benedet, Bill Murray, Chris Glaser, Joshua Miles
The skinny: Ben Johnson has previously mentioned he wants to have up to 10 quality offensive linemen on the active roster. After drafting Ozzy Trapilo and Luke Newman, the Bears reached that magic number and finally have some strong depth behind a revamped starting five.
Defensive Line (10)
IN: Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, Andrew Billings, Shemar Turner*, Dominique Robinson, Daniel Hardy, Xavier Carlton**
OUT: Zacch Pickens, Chris Williams, Jonathan Ford, Jamree Kromah, Jereme Robinson**
The skinny: Another position where the Bears needed some high quality depth and they found it this offseason adding Dayo Odeyingbo, Grady Jarrett, and Shemar Turner. One sneaky sleeper I see landing a spot is UDFA Xavier Carlton, who had 9.0 sacks in 2024 at Cal. I'm expecting a big 2025 jump from Austin Booker here too.
Linebacker (4)
IN: Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Ruben Hyppolite II*
OUT: Noah Sewell, Carl Jones, Swayze Bozeman, Power Echols**
The skinny: The linebacker room got some added speed this weekend in Ruben Hyppolite II who will also play a role on special teams and we'll see how creative Dennis Allen gets with him behind Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. One last thing, cutting Noah Sewell makes three recent Ryan Poles draft picks getting the boot.
Cornerback (6)
IN: Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Zah Frazier*
OUT: Ameer Speed, Nick McCloud, Shaun Wade, Nahshon Wright
The skinny: This position was already loaded and will be for years to come with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon locked up on extensions. Then, you have a healthy competition at the other outside position between three young guys in Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, and Zah Frazier. Josh Blackwell is another core special teamer who got rewarded this offseason and should be a lock to make the roster.
Safety (5)
IN: Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, Jonathan Owens, Tarvarius Moore
OUT: Alex Cook, Major Burns**, Tysheem Johnson**
The skinny: I think this has to be the most concerning position on the roster, which is why I'm not surprised Dennis Allen wants to move Kyler Gordon around. I'm also shocked no players were added here during the draft. Overall, the team will be running it back with the same five safeties from last season, who are all entering into the final year of their current deals.
Specialists (3)
IN: Cairo Santos (K), Tory Taylor (P), Scott Daly (LS)
OUT: Luke Elkin (LS), Jonathan Kim (K)
The skinny: As expected, no changes for this unit heading into the 2025 season. A lot of people soured on Cairo Santos and his lack of distance last season but the Bears will more than likely be running it back with him unless UDFA Jonathan Kim beats him out for the starting job.
Final Word
Overall, the Bears roster as a whole is much stronger than this point last season but the biggest difference not seen throughout this post is the new coaching staff led by head coach Ben Johnson. That aspect alone will set these players up for a much more successful season in 2025.
There's a lot to be excited about with this squad and the new additions added over the last few months. And we've learned to hamper any expectations until we see what this team actually looks like on the field. But, it should be a lot of fun.
