As the Chicago Bears continue seeking solutions to improve their defense, it is easy to forget that one of their original options hasn’t yet seen the field this year. Safety Coby Bryant was their prized addition in free agency, giving them much-needed speed on the back end. Sadly, he injured his knee in training camp, necessitating surgery. Projections had him missing 4-6 months. That meant his best chance to play would be sometime in December, provided his recovery went well. There hasn’t been an update on him since news of his surgery.

That finally changed on Wednesday.

Head coach Ben Johnson provided an update on Bryant’s situation. Based on everything the training staff has seen, the safety is right on track with his recovery. The biggest hurdle ahead is the change-of-direction drills. How Bryant handles those will determine whether he can get back this season or may have to wait until 2027. It feels like things are entering a crucial stretch over the next few weeks. If Bryant responds well to the increasing workload, he could return just in time to help the Bears chase a second straight playoff berth.

The absence of Coby Bryant has been felt.

That safety spot next to Dillon Thieneman hasn’t really been settled since the season began. Veteran Xavier Woods seemed like a feasible temporary solution, but his lack of speed quickly became a glaring weakness. This necessitated shifting to Cam Lewis, who was able to step away from nickel duties once Kyler Gordon returned. While not a standout performer by any means, he at least offers some steadiness. What the Bears truly miss the most is the playmaking Bryant would’ve provided.

Don’t forget he had 4 interceptions last season. Kevin Byard, whom he was supposed to replace, had 7. So far this season, Bears safeties have only one interception combined. That came from Thieneman against Philadelphia. They were really banking on Coby Bryant being that centerfielder guy who could cut into passing lanes when quarterbacks got too aggressive. That presence is clearly missing, and it limits what this defense can do. It isn’t hard to understand why the coaches seem excited about his possible return.

The schedule paints a clear picture.

Bryant went under the knife on August 7th. If the recovery hits the more optimistic timeline of 4 months, then you’re probably looking at the Bears’ road game against the Miami Dolphins on December 13th as the logical return date. Maybe he could try for December 6th at home against Jacksonville, but that feels like a stretch. An extra week of practice to get his legs under him would be something Johnson would do. That means the Bears would have him for the final five games of the season, including titanic matchups with Buffalo, Green Bay, Detroit, and Minnesota.

While he may not have been with the team long, he’ll have arrived at what will likely be the most pivotal stretch of the season. Those NFC North receivers will find it much tougher going with him patrolling the deep sector of the field. All the Bears can do for now is wait. Maybe they’ll seek help for the defense at the trade deadline in the meantime.

There has been a ton of smoke going into the trade deadline this year involving the Chicago Bears. They feel like a team that is poised for a deep playoff run. Another strong infusion of talent at the deadline might help give them an edge over the competition. They’ve already been sniffing around multiple players, including DeForest Buckner and even Quenton Nelson. However, no move has been made yet. Will GM Ryan Poles actually make a move, or is he just putting stuff out in the media to make it look like he’s trying?

One thing is clear. People around the NFL certainly think the Bears will do something. From what Jeremy Fowler of ESPN is hearing, the position to watch is edge rushers. It sounds like the market will be richer than usual. Fowler mentioned not one but three different names the Bears might be involved in as the deadline draws closer. Obviously, one of them is Khalil Mack. He’s been a known option for weeks. He is joined by Arizona’s Josh Sweat and Tennessee’s Jermaine Johnson.

Much depends on how much the Chicago Bears want to pay.

Josh Sweat, Edge, Arizona Cardinals

What Fowler is hearing: Rival teams could see him getting moved. “Sweat to Dallas makes a lot of sense to me,” an NFC exec said. “That’s a profile fit.” Rumblings persist that Sweat would want a new contract — he’s in the second year of a four-year, $76 million deal — and that could complicate things. But many teams are looking for an edge rusher.

Predicted chance of getting traded: 40%

Team fits: Cowboys, Bears, 49ers

Khalil Mack, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

What Fowler is hearing: Mack is productive and affordable. The Chargers gave him a $10 million signing bonus in March, so a new team would inherit the prorated version of his $8 million salary to close out his one-year deal. Returning to the Bears is a natural fit for the equivalent of a quality Day 3 pick. The Chargers have held off trading pieces such as Mack up to this point, though.

Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Tennessee Titans

What Fowler is hearing: Teams in the market for an edge rusher believe Johnson could be available at the right price. The Titans are reeling at 1-6 and are still in rebuilding mode, which necessitates adding more draft picks. Johnson is a Robert Saleh favorite from their Jets days together and just got to Tennessee via an offseason trade. But enough interest in the edge-rush market could make him a factor. Teams I talked to consider him a toss-up to be traded.

Team fits: Browns, Bears

The Chicago Bears face a classic shopper’s dilemma.

There are three products on the shelf. Each does the same thing, but to varying degrees of quality. It comes down to how much you’re willing to pay. Sweat is probably the most preferable of the three options. He’s still 29 years old and had 12.5 sacks last season. There are two years left on his current deal, giving the Chicago Bears some control over his future. Mack is the most accomplished of the trio, but also the oldest at 35. He has been productive this year. Still, his viability beyond 2026 is questionable.

Johnson is the store’s brand product. It’s the cheapest available, and for good reasons. After collecting 7.5 sacks in his 2023 season with the New York Jets, he has just 6 sacks in his past three seasons. Though 27 years old, it’s pretty clear that Johnson isn’t what you’d call a front-line pass rusher. This is somebody who would be a good #3 or #4 option. If the Bears are fine with something like that, he would be a solid addition. Just don’t expect him to drastically change the defense’s fortunes.

How far will Poles go?

He is the one who will decide that. The Bears GM has shown an aversion to bold moves in recent years. He hasn’t made an aggressive trade since grabbing Montez Sweat for a 2nd round pick in 2023. It’s been mostly cheaper moves since then. If he holds to that same strategy, then deals involving Mack or Johnson are the more likely outcomes. Sweat’s market should command somewhere in the vicinity of a 3rd round pick. A big key is whether his recent lack of production might drag that number down.

The Bears have been a build-through-the-draft kind of team for years. They haven’t operated as an all-or-nothing group, preferring a more measured approach, intent on keeping the team competitive in the long term. There is no indication that the stance has changed, either with Poles or the coaching staff. That is why it might be best to assume they go bargain hunting over the next two weeks.

The Chicago Bears have mostly kept their NFL trade deadline rumors centered around defensive players. This is hardly a surprise, as the unit could use some help both up front and in the secondary. However, the first big name to drop this week was 8-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson. He went to the Seattle Seahawks after a Hall of Fame career in Indianapolis. Unsurprisingly, multiple teams were involved in the pursuit. However, by far the biggest surprise, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, was the Bears.

People couldn’t understand why general manager Ryan Poles would even bother doing that. Chicago already has two high-quality guards in Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. It is difficult to comprehend why the team would spend that kind of draft capital for a player who would unseat one of them. It’s not like either has played poorly. Thuney remains as steady and dependable as ever. Jackson is a key part of the team’s run game. So why would the Bears even entertain this idea?

Acquiring Quenton Nelson brings up two possibilities.

The first is that head coach Ben Johnson is uncomfortable with the Bears’ current situation at left tackle. Theo Benedet has been starting for weeks since Braxton Jones injured his knee. Ozzy Trapilo has been working his way back onto the field, but clearly isn’t back to his old form yet. With both left tackle options being less than ideal, maybe Johnson felt he had a solution by acquiring Nelson. Slide him into that left guard spot and move Thuney outside to left tackle, similar to what the Bears did in the playoffs against Los Angeles.

Another possibility is that Poles and the coaches are getting indications that Thuney might be preparing to retire. Remember, he turns 34 years old in November. He’s played 11 seasons in the NFL and has accomplished everything there is to accomplish. It is hardly difficult to envision him hanging it up after this season. Adding Quenton Nelson, who is three years younger, would’ve helped them maintain stability on the interior. It would’ve been a more aggressive version of the Garrett Bradbury trade earlier this year.

We’ll likely get an answer after the season.

If Thuney does retire, that will explain everything. Maybe in the end, the Bears just sensed the opportunity to add another stellar piece to their already strong offensive line. It is the type of problem that head coach Ben Johnson would relish solving. Instead, they will have to face Nelson on Monday Night Football. Besides, it’s important to remember the guard will be a free agent in 2027. Unless Thuney does retire, they wouldn’t have the cap space to keep him anyway. Poles has usually preferred to trade for assets the team can control for a couple of years.

Nelson was very much a rental intended for a team that feels it is on the cusp of a Super Bowl. The Bears just didn’t have the assets to justify that kind of swing. Not for a guard, anyway. Even one as good as him. If nothing else, this report does raise questions about the position. It could look considerably different next season, depending on what Thuney or Jackson decides to do.

Montez Sweat certainly didn’t have the best sense of timing. The Chicago Bears had just lost a frustrating game in Green Bay to the Packers and would be going into Atlanta next. They needed a win and knew the defense would have to do its part. So when Sweat got slapped with a two-game suspension for a PED violation, it caught everybody by surprise. Not only would he be out against the Falcons, but also, a few days later, against the New England Patriots and their hot quarterback, Drake Maye.

There was no getting around the truth. Sweat had hung his team out to dry. Lucky for him, the Bears navigated the situation brilliantly. Thanks to the timely return of quarterback Caleb Williams, they took down the Falcons and then won a tight game at home against the Patriots. The defense played surprisingly well under the circumstances. All things considered, Sweat was off the hook. He sure seemed grateful for that. When asked about what happened with the suspension, he didn’t duck responsibility. He took it all on himself for making an accidental, but dumb mistake.

“It was nothing with the nutritional staff here or the training staff here. It was things I was doing on my own. Yeah, take that on the chin and move forward…

…It’s definitely something I’ve got to live with (the rest of) my career. I never want to cheat the game and I would never do it intentionally, but what happened happened and I’m moving forward.”

Montez Sweat was never known for such violations.

He’s been somebody who’s avoided these issues throughout his career. That is why the suspension was such a shock. The best guess is he dabbled in some sort of drug that was on the NFL’s list of banned substances. It probably wasn’t actual steroids, but it was something that could be seen as a form of performance enhancement. The two-game suspension was less a punishment and more of a warning to him to be more careful. Sweat didn’t share any specific details, but seemed pretty chastened by the mistake.

One silver lining to this fiasco is that the veteran got a couple of weeks off. His body should be fresh and healed up from any nagging injuries he may have been dealing with. The Bears will need him on Monday night against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. They just traded for Quentin Nelson to beef up their offensive line. This makes interior rush more difficult for the defense. That means Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and the edge rushers must pick up the slack.

The next several weeks are big for him.

Make no mistake, the Bears have a big decision coming up regarding Sweat’s contract. Most of the guarantees he’s owed have been paid. If he doesn’t perform well down the stretch, the Bears may decide it’s time to move up by either trading or cutting him in the offseason. They’d net plenty of salary cap space. If regaining some credibility from the PED suspension weren’t motivation enough, then preserving his spot on the team beyond 2026 should be another big one.

A strong performance in Seattle is the right way to start. At least Sweat understands the situation he put the team in with his mistake. That easily could’ve spiraled out of control. Imagine if the Bears lost both games and the defense was the primary reason why. Sweat would probably be a villain in the eyes of fans, having sabotaged the team’s chances to chase a Super Bowl. Time to make up for it.

Caleb Williams has always been a star. It’s been that way since high school, when he led his program to a state championship. This is the guy who had the greatest freshman debut of all time in a comeback win over Texas and then won the Heisman trophy a year later. One would think that such accomplishments would give Williams the benefit of the doubt when it came to learning how to play at the NFL level. However, it sounds like more than a few of his teammates were skeptical about the idea.

No be confused. Guys felt Williams would be successful. He was way too talented and driven not to be. This stemmed more from the uncertainty that a gifted athlete like him would ever learn how to play quarterback like a professional. Former USC wide receiver Brenden Rice admitted as much on The Athletic LIVE recently. He’d played with Williams in college. Not once during that time had the quarterback made throws based on timing and rhythm. He was a strict backyard-style passer, moving around with his legs searching for the big play.

What Rice is seeing now in Chicago is stunning.

Caleb Williams crossed a boundary many like him never did.

Remember, learning to play from the pocket often runs counter to the instincts of quarterbacks known for their mobility. For every Steven Young or Lamar Jackson, you get several failures like Vince Young, Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III, and Justin Fields. It is a brutally difficult transition to make. Many felt that Williams didn’t have the focus, dedication, and work ethic to make it happen. Now four starts into his 3rd season, he’s completing 71% of his passes for 1,020 yards, 5 TDs, and 1 interception.

No Chicago Bears quarterback has ever been this dialed in before. Caleb Williams is playing like a true star. Everything is clicking. As amazing as he was in college, he was never this precise. He’s transformed into a chess grandmaster, thinking three or four moves ahead, keeping the offense on time, and taking what the defense gives him. Only when the situation requires it does he put that Superman cape on and make a play. It is an evolution nobody thought would happen.

To see the Bears pull this off is bizarre.

Remember, this was an organization widely known for mishandling quarterbacks going back decades. Nobody thought for a second that they could build the infrastructure necessary to help Williams reach his full potential. Yet somehow, general manager Ryan Poles succeeded. He built a sturdy offensive line with names like Darnell Wright, Jonah Jackson, and Joe Thuney. He added weapons like Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and D’Andre Swift. Yet by far the most important addition was head coach Ben Johnson.

The offensive wizard from Detroit had the ideal mix of genius and teaching skills that Williams needed. Johnson was willing to be tough on the quarterback despite his lofty status as a former #1 pick. Williams, to his credit, welcomed the disciplined approach. It has certainly worked out in his favor. He’s playing the best football of his career, lifting himself into MVP conversations and putting the Bears in line for a Super Bowl push.

The NFL trade deadline kicked into high gear on Tuesday as the NFC West made back-to-back big moves. It started with Seattle trading for Pro Bowl guard Quentin Nelson from Indianapolis. Their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, quickly followed up by grabbing his teammate, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. It’s pretty clear that both teams feel comfortable enough with their status as contenders to make a big move. Naturally, Chicago Bears fans are wondering if GM Ryan Poles is finally ready to do the same. When looking at the landscape, there is no shortage of notable names who could be available. However, most would agree that defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is the biggest fish in the pond.

We’re talking about an interior player who is equally dominant playing the run and rushing the passer. At 29 years old, he’s on course for another Pro Bowl season for the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately, the team is still terrible, sitting at 1-6. It seems like a logical decision to flip Simmons for a nice return while his value is still high. There is no shortage of teams that would want him. However, the Bears may have an advantage over all of them.

A friend of Poles controls Jeffery Simmons.

Tennessee hired Mike Borgonzi as its new general manager this past offseason. Before that, he was the right-hand man of Brett Veach with the Kansas City Chiefs. He and Poles arrived with that franchise at the same time in 2009 and climbed the ranks together. They have a close relationship as a result. As we’ve already seen, such relationships can mean the difference in trades like this. Seattle exploited one when they secured Nelson. Seahawks GM John Schneider is tight with Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds from their time together in Seattle.

Poles already having an established line of communication with Borgonzi is incredibly huge. The two have a mutual trust that should help the process. We already saw that play out between the Bears GM and Ian Cunningham when they swung the Gervon Dexter trade. It is hardly a stretch to think the same could happen with Borgonzi, just in reverse. It comes down to price. Simmons is 29 years old. While not old, he’s on the tail end of his prime. Tennessee can’t expect a maximum return for him. Still, a 1st round pick feels like the ballpark.

That is uncharted territory for Poles.

In his entire run as GM, he’s never given up a 1st round pick for a veteran player before. It goes against his usual credo of keeping your high draft picks and using them on young talent. That said, we know he’s not afraid to take risks. Is Jeffery Simmons the caliber of player that can change a defense overnight? Yes, he is. There are very few in the NFL who control the line of scrimmage on every snap like he can. If there is one guy who can live up to surrendering a 1st round pick, it’d be him.

The best comparison would be the Dexter Lawrence trade Cincinnati made in the offense. He is a similar age to Simmons and instantly transformed the Bengals defense. Imagine what Simmons could do for Montez Sweat and Austin Booker on the edge. He and Dayo Odeyingbo could form a brutal interior pass rush to deal with. Dennis Allen has never had a player of his caliber before. The possibilities are endless.