Trading D.J. Moore was an unfortunate necessity for the Chicago Bears this offseason. Their salary cap had gotten to a point where they had to make some sacrifices to get their payroll back under control. With Rome Odunze and Luther Burden on the ascent, sacrificing Moore was the most sensible option. They sent him to Buffalo, where he’ll get to play with Josh Allen. To fill the void left behind, head coach Ben Johnson called on longtime veteran Kalif Raymond, who’d been with him for years in Detroit.

Most people felt the signing was done for three primary reasons. His connection to Johnson was the obvious one. He knows the offensive system and can get caught up quickly. Another is his speed. Raymond, even at 31 years old, can still move. Last but not least, he is an excellent return man. The Bears want to get more explosive in the third phase. However, there was another reason. Raymond has a glowing reputation as a locker room leader. Lions players weren’t happy to see him go.

According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, the wide receiver already made that presence felt in a frank discussion with Caleb Williams during practice. The Bears quarterback came away from it realizing he still has lots to learn about leadership.

Kalif Raymond is already playing his role to perfection.

Make no mistake. Johnson knew exactly what he was doing when he signed the wide receiver. The Bears head coach has proven time and again to be a calculating person. Everything he does is for a reason. He knows the team’s hopes of winning a championship rest on Williams’s shoulders. His job is to make the quarterback the best player he can be. What many coaches often miss, though, is that it can’t just be about Xs and Os, pass accuracy, and so on. Great quarterbacks are also the leaders of the team.

That was something people questioned when Williams was drafted. He had boatloads of talent, but some wondered if he had the true instincts of a leader. Based on his reactions to losses and his body language when things didn’t go the way he wanted, they were right to think so. Raymond recognized it too and became the first teammate to tell Williams to his face that such behavior sends the wrong message. He must learn to exude confidence and calm at all times.

Raymond saw one of the best do this.

He played alongside Eli Manning in New York for a season, getting a fleeting taste of the two-time Super Bowl champion before he retired. Then he worked with Jared Goff in Detroit, who has been to two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl in his career. While neither might be considered an all-time great, they’ve achieved success at the highest level in this sport. They did this by being excellent leaders and understanding when to maintain calm in high-pressure situations.

Williams took a big step forward in both departments last season. After some early setbacks, he seemed to gain mastery over his body language and became more vocal when necessary. As with all young players, there are still some wrinkles to smooth out. That is why Kalif Raymond is there. He’s at a point in his career where he doesn’t worry about stepping on toes. He’s trying to win. If that means saying some things guys need to hear, even if they don’t like it? So be it.

The Chicago Bears stadium push shifted to Hammond, Indiana, after the Illinois state legislature failed to pass a bill that would give the team property tax certainty to start building in Arlington Heights. Most experts believed the initial site of Wolf Lake, near the town, was likely where the team would build. However, new reports suggested that the plan had shifted to a different location two miles away at Lost Marsh Golf Course. The overall area covers around 330 acres and is a recovered brownfield, or industrial waste site.

It made sense. Lost Marsh was located on more stable, man-made ground. Such is not the case at Wolf Lake, which is largely a wetland. Not only would it take extensive work to turn such an area into a viable stadium site, but there would also be a significant legal battle because it is considered a wildlife preserve and is environmentally protected. Shifting to Lost Marsh was thought to be the perfect solution to avoid that problem. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, according to Paris Schutz of NBC 5 Chicago.

“But part of the agreement meant the new natural wetlands had to be protected well into the future. A permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called for a reported 50-year easement for two large lake basins on the site, meaning no development allowed there until at least the early 2050s.

That would significantly shrink the Bears’ footprint to just the golf course. But the exact plans have yet to be drawn up. Although sources familiar with the planning expect all environmental restrictions to be honored. We don’t know exactly where the future stadium, parking lots or developments would go, but we do know any plans to alter the property would have to be approved by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.”

Hammond just lost appeal in the Chicago Bears stadium push.

This is not to say the team can’t build in Lost Marsh. The township is more than willing to do so. The problem is that the property authorized would be a fraction of what the Bears were hoping for. If they want the entire thing, it would be a costly court battle that would take time and money. Even then, there is no guarantee they would win it. Maybe assistance from the state government could help, but right now it sounds like the team is stuck. One of the appealing things about Hammond was that it offered large, sprawling land to build on. Now they’re learning it comes with extra headaches they didn’t ask for.

Nobody is happier about this than Illinois. It genuinely looked like the state had bungled its last chance to keep the Bears, ending a relationship that had lasted over a century. This update suggests they might have enough time to gather themselves and draft legislation that would satisfy both the House and the Senate. Governor J.B. Pritzker has said he would call a special session in the summer if all sides put something forward that makes sense. If Indiana can’t close the deal quickly because of these environmental issues, Illinois can get back into the race.

This saga is far from over.

While there has definitely been a momentum shift towards Hammond, their mayor, Thomas McDermott, might’ve been ill-advised to claim it was a done deal. We’ve seen this Chicago Bears stadium issue shift directions too many times to assume anything. Remember, the franchise turned down options in downtown Chicago because they weren’t large enough. If the environmental roadblock is as challenging as it sounds, they may choose to make another push on Arlington Heights.

Don’t forget the Bears already own that property. It is 326 acres with no environmental speed bumps to worry about. It feels like Illinois and Indiana are stalled on the last step. One must pass legislation to settle the property tax issue. The other must find a way to navigate the environmental protection at both of their prominent sites in Hammond. Whoever makes the breakthrough first is most likely to win the race. Much depends on the whims of Bears president Kevin Warren, which seem to shift with every change of the wind.

One Chicago Bears position that seems somewhat in flux as the 2026 season approaches is cornerback. On paper, they should be set with Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Tyrique Stevenson. All have starting experience and have played well for stretches. There is one problem. Gordon can’t stay healthy, and Stevenson was benched for most of the second half of last season. Their credibility took a big hit last season. So one would understand if the coaching staff isn’t as comfortable handing them jobs without a second thought. Enter Malik Muhammad.

Usually, teams don’t make a big fuss about 4th round picks. Those are often players with potential but not ready for the big leagues just yet. Most thought the same about the young cornerback from Texas. While his tapes showed a player with plenty of athleticism and instincts, his skinny frame and incomplete fundamentals made it unlikely he would crack the lineup. Yet, according to Herb Howard’s report this week, it sounds like Bears coaches have high expectations for him.

“Coach (Al) Harris continues to be all over Malik Muhammad. He seemed to make a mental error out here, kind of in a group individual session. Coach Harris got all on him. He coaches all his guys hard, but like I said during Rookie Minicamp, he seems very invested in Malik’s development, and what he thinks he could be. Coach is on his ass for every little detail. Good players want that kind of coaching.”

Malik Muhammad is ready and willing.

He said when asked that his goal is to start. He has no plans to sit back and wait his turn. He did the same thing at Texas. The young man is wired to compete. It is a big reason why the Bears drafted him in the first place. He’s not here to learn at the feet of the older players. He is here to challenge them. Competition is the order of the day on this roster. Gordon and Stevenson have no credibility in the eyes of this coaching staff. Last season was a brutal setback for both, and now they’re battling for more than money.

Having Al Harris so invested in his development is ideal news for Malik Muhammad. The man is the unquestioned best cornerbacks coach in football. He’s proven that for several years by developing multiple players into Pro Bowlers. What he did last year with Nahshon Wright, who was cut by the Minnesota Vikings just months before, was masterclass stuff. If Muhammad follows his instructions to the letter, he can play the position at a high level in the NFL. The talent is there.

A lane is already developing.

Gordon has yet to participate in practice so far this offseason, nursing yet another soft tissue injury. It is why Muhammad has been getting lots of work at the nickel position. Stevenson has at least been on the field, but various reports have shown him getting beaten a few times for big plays. Make no mistake. Muhammad doesn’t need a miracle to crack the starting lineup. All he has to do is learn his lessons, apply them in practice, and then take them to the field in the preseason. If he can do that, the Bears will put the job in his hands.

Don’t forget that this coaching staff didn’t draft Gordon or Stevenson. While both remain talented players, the staff’s view of them isn’t the same as the previous one under Matt Eberflus. There is no loyalty involved with either player. That makes their status even more uncertain. Teams don’t usually draft players in the 4th round with big plans for them, at least not at first. Then again, many experts felt Muhammad went later than he should have. It’s possible the Bears felt the same way.

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t have a fun calendar year. They won 14 games in 2024, headlined by Sam Darnold at quarterback, one of the great comeback stories in recent memory. They then lose immediately in the playoffs. Rather than retain Darnold, they let him walk in free agency, hoping to move forward with 1st round pick J.J. McCarthy. Darnold goes to Seattle and wins the Super Bowl. McCarthy endures injury and consistency problems, causing the Vikings to crash to an 8-9 record. Realizing they’d made an enormous mistake, the team did the only thing they could. They want out and got the most proven quarterback possible. That is former Pro Bowler Kyler Murray.

The ex-first overall pick had some really good seasons for the Arizona Cardinals, but his production dipped considerably after 2021, and he never regained his top form. Last season, he was lost for the year after five games due to an injury. Rather than stay the course, Arizona chose to move on. Minnesota, believing head coach Kevin O’Connell could coax the best out of Murray as he had other veteran quarterbacks, moved swiftly to sign him. Yet to the surprise of many, they’ve opted to put him in a competition with McCarthy.

Murray doesn’t seem happy about that based on recent comments.

Kyler Murray is already living up to his reputation.

The quarterback has never been known as a straight-up malcontent. However, he does have a history of somewhat selfish behavior and finding ways to make it known. Now, what he said isn’t wrong. He is correct that splitting reps with another guy in practice can make it difficult to learn an offense. The issue is this isn’t something you’re supposed to voice publicly. That is something you have to keep in-house. Everybody now thinks there is discontent in the building, which the Vikings don’t need.

McCarthy also did nothing to help matters. When asked how the relationship between he and Murray was developing, the former 1st round pick didn’t give the party line. He was honest.

“It’s just like two guys in a classroom. He sits on one side, and I sit on the other side. It’s the coaches’ responsibility to teach us and coach us. Awkwardness? It’s just like the same feeling when you’re in high school, and there’s another person on the other side of the room. That’s just kinda how it is.”

There is no question that this is a situation nobody is happy with, and that doesn’t bode well for the coming season. Remember, the Chicago Bears went into 2020 with a similar setup. They still had Mitch Trubisky trying to reclaim his brief status as a franchise QB, only to be confronted by Nick Foles, a former Super Bowl champion. It didn’t end well for either.

Are the Vikings putting too much faith in O’Connell?

There is no question that he is an excellent offensive mind. That said, one must be careful with the idea that he is the end-all, be-all of quarterback whisperers. Up until now, he has worked with a particular type of quarterback. The pocket-oriented type. You had Case Keenum in Washington, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, then Kirk Cousins, Darnold, and McCarthy in Minnesota. Kyler Murray is not that type of player. His game has long been predicated on using his mobility to create off-script and hitting big plays down the field.

This is not somebody who will run a surgical drive going 7-of-7. If O’Connell tries to make him like that, the results may not be what Minnesota wants. Jonathan Gannon tried that approach in Arizona for years. It never fully took hold. Maybe the Vikings’ strong supporting cast makes that easier, but there are so many variables involved. Then you throw the lack of reps into the mix, and you’re asking for trouble. Minnesota may navigate it all because things just seem to work out for them at times. Best not to bet on it.

Montez Sweat can be forgiven if he was jaded as a player when it came to head coaches. Since entering the league in 2019 as a 1st round pick in Washington, he’s been exposed to nothing but disappointment in that regard. It started with Jay Gruden and Bill Cunningham in his rookie season. They were then replaced by Ron Rivera. Though a successful coach in Carolina, he didn’t have the same mojo in Washington. He never produced a winning record in four seasons with the team.

Then, Sweats was traded to the Chicago Bears, where he got the Matt Eberflus experience. Nobody blamed the veteran pass rusher for being cynical at that point. He didn’t know what to expect when Ben Johnson arrived last year. All he knew was the guy was some kind of offensive genius. Sweat had seen those types before. It doesn’t automatically make one a good head coach. A few months later, the Bears won the division and a playoff game, both firsts in Sweat’s career. How did Johnson accomplish this? He didn’t beat around the bush when asked.

“He worked the shit out of us…If it wasn’t about winning, it was nonexistent.”

That single-minded approach was something the veteran didn’t see coming, and didn’t appreciate at first. However, that all changed when the wins started piling up. Now, Sweat is all in. Still, that doesn’t mean he’s looking forward to training camp.

“I’m expecting the worst. Be prepared. Hopefully I’ll be a little more prepared this time since I been through it.”

Winning over Montez Sweat was crucial for Johnson.

Like any head coach, he knew the younger guys would listen to him. That is how they’re programmed coming out of college. Guys like Sweat, Kevin Byard, Jaylon Johnson, D.J. Moore, and Joe Thuney would be much harder to convince. These guys had been in the league for years. They’re grown men with families to feed. They can also smell bulls**t from a mile away. If you’re not authentic with them and put forward a clear vision for the team, they won’t give you the full commitment you’re looking for.

Johnson knew that and set the tone right away. Everybody would be held to the same standard. No exceptions. That included the quarterback and the coaching staff. If you weren’t putting in the time and effort, you get called out. No more cutting corners. Johnson said it from the opening presser. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Players probably didn’t realize how literal he was being with that. As a coach, you can’t afford to be lenient. Most guys aren’t self-disciplined enough to coach or police themselves.

There is one key difference from last year.

The roster is now occupied by more players Johnson acquired than he inherited. This means he’s been filling it with guys who not only accept but embrace hard work. You’re already seeing it with new arrivals like Coby Bryant, Dillon Thieneman, and Logan Jones. Both Colston Loveland and Luther Burden are said to be significantly improved from the end of last season. Everybody knows what is being asked of them. They also know Johnson won’t have any sympathy for their pain when things get tough this summer.

If you want to win a championship, you must be willing to make sacrifices. Montez Sweat thought he understood through the first years of his career. His encounter with Johnson opened up his understanding of the difference between great teams and everybody else. Even as he moves into his 30s, the defensive end has no plans to ease up. He can’t afford to. If he wants to win, he must be prepared to grind. This is the fundamental lesson Johnson will keep teaching.

The Chicago Bears secondary is undergoing some serious changes this offseason. Both of their starting safeties from last season are gone. Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman are the new kids on the block. However, the shuffle might not be over. It is quite possible we could see another mass overhaul in 2027, depending on what happens this season. Jaylon Johnson is working to bounce back from his injury-riddled 2025. He’s probably safer than anybody. The same can’t be said of Kyler Gordon, who may have already been cut if not for recently signing an extension. He missed 14 games last year. Then there is Tyrique Stevenson.

No player has been more frustrating than the former 2nd round pick over the past three years. There are stretches where he looks like a front-line starter, playing some really good wide receivers tough. Then he’ll have games where he is repeatedly victimized, and games where he makes baffling mental mistakes. It got to a point last year where defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and defensive backs coach Al Harris reduced his playing time. Now he’s going into a contract year and Stevenson can sense the pressure.

According to Adam Jahns of CHGO, the cornerback is so desperate for solutions that he is seeking advice from the Bears’ offensive coaches as well.

Stevenson said he’s turned to the Bears’ offensive coaches for advice.

“It’s kind of like the first time I did it,” he said. “I just want to know where I can get better to help this team and go out there and perform at a high level.”

Tyrique Stevenson knows he’s up against the wall.

He’s had three years to show the Bears that he is capable of being that guy they can rely on for any situation. Instead, he has spent most of it letting his emotions and impulses guide his decision-making. That is how you end up with a situation like the Hail Mary two years ago. Stevenson wasn’t making enough plays last year to justify his lapses in judgment. That is why the Bears felt comfortable going with Nahshon Wright as the starter across from Johnson instead. He at least made big plays.

Asking the offensive coaches for advice can’t hurt. They see things differently. It is their job to scout and identify a cornerback’s weaknesses so they can best exploit them. If Stevenson can learn to see what they see, he might be able to find ways to cover some of those weaknesses. That would make him a more consistent player. Whether he takes the advice to heart and applies it is the big question. He certainly has the motivation necessary to put in the work.

Stevenson is fighting for his future.

Remember, most NFL players only get one realistic shot at a big contract. That comes after their four-year rookie deal expires. They’re in their mid-20s and at the peak of their physical primes. Teams are willing to pay big money for that, provided the player shows he is good enough to warrant it. As of right now, it doesn’t sound like Tyrique Stevenson has much of a market. The Bears have offered zero indications they’re planning to extend him. That means the view from other NFL teams isn’t much better.

He has the next six months to change that. First, he must lock down a starting job. Wright’s exit in March helps, but he’ll still have competition with rookie Malik Muhammad. Presuming he holds serve there, Stevenson must put together a full season in which he’s consistent in all facets of the game, particularly turnovers. That may sound like asking a lot, but that is what top players do. He likes to think of himself as in that same tier. It is time to start proving it.

The latest updates have painted a clear picture. The Chicago Bears worked with the Illinois legislature to advance a bill that would provide them with property tax relief, allowing them to begin construction on their new stadium in Arlington Heights. That bill was shot down in the Senate, and a new bill was introduced that focused solely on the Bears. That passed, but when it returned to the House for final evaluation, it wasn’t even voted on before the session expired. As the blame game started shortly after that failure, the Bears announced they were shifting their focus to Hammond, Indiana. People wondered if this was just another leverage play. Adam Schefter recently clarified that.

The NFL insider went on Unsportsmanlike, where he was asked about the Bears’ situation. His expertise is, of course, football-related, so the stadium situation was out of his lane. That is why he got in touch with somebody who understood the situation.

“You know, again, I turn to people because I’m not smart about Illinois politics. How they work. I turn to people that are smarter than me. There was a guy last week that I turned to about this. And I said, like, ‘Is this done? Like, where are we at? How do we gauge this?’ And he texted me back. He said, ‘It’s not a bluff. There’s more work to do, but barring anything very strange, it’s a done deal. Illinois f**ked it up. The politics are unbelievable in that state. Totally dysfunctional.’ That’s the text I got now.”

It doesn’t get much more definitive than that. This all but confirms what has been said over the past week that the Bears going to Hammond is around 80% certain at this point. The failure in May was pretty much the last straw.

Adam Schefter has no skin in the game.

That is why his information is as close to unbiased as you can get in this situation. It is pretty clear that, while the Bears have made plenty of mistakes throughout this process, most of the blame for this fiasco lies with the Illinois government. An appalling mix of complacency, division, greed, and lack of leadership combined to slow the entire process to a crawl. What makes it even crazier is that none of this came from a partisan deadlock. Democrats are in full control of the House, Senate, and the Governor’s office. This should’ve been a simple thing for them.

Yet there were competing agendas even inside the party. Governor J.B. Pritzker refused to enter serious negotiations with the Bears for literal years, believing it wasn’t worth his time. Not until the team started threatening to move to Indiana did he finally get involved. A large voting bloc in Chicago, led by Mayor Brandon Johnson, has worked hard to block any legislation that allows the Bears to build in Arlington Heights. Part of that is working to settle the remaining Soldier Field debt, and the other part is not wanting to lose revenue from commuter traffic on game days. This is just some of the dysfunction Adam Schefter mentioned.

A panic is starting to set in down in Springfield.

Multiple members of both parties are working feverishly to introduce new legislation that can get the necessary votes to pass, which would give the Bears what they need. Pritzker, despite trying to lay blame on the team, stated publicly that he would have no problem calling a special summer session of the legislature. All the Bears have to do is put together a bill that clearly articulates what they want and has a good chance of passing. This came days after House majority leader Chris Welch said no special session was planned.

That is a massive olive branch from Pritzker, who has played hard ball from the very beginning. One could argue that his decision to maintain that stance lasted too long, costing the state in the battle for public perception. It started out with people seeing them as protecting the taxpayers. However, even after the Bears stated they would fund the entire stadium construction themselves, Illinois kept stalling. Now they may go down as the government that let a franchise that has spent 106 years in the state leave. The mystery source from Adam Schefter was right.

They @#!$% it up.

The Chicago Bears knew they didn’t have a lot of money to throw around when free agency began in March. That meant general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson had to be smart with their approach. The strategy they went with was fairly simple: more speed and intensity. That is why safety Coby Bryant became their primary target on the veteran market. He was coming off a Super Bowl victory and was known as one of the core leaders of that excellent Seattle Seahawks defense.

While losing Kevin Byard was tough, the Bears felt they got younger, faster, and more versatile with Bryant. Just a month into training camp preparation, it sounds like the safety is making his presence felt. Johnson pointed it out during his recent press conference. For all the talk about Bryant’s exploits in games, the Bears are finding out that he is every bit as intense on the practice field. There is no going half-speed. He’s full throttle on every rep and doesn’t mind pushing teammates to match his energy.

Coby Bryant is fueling this by engaging with the team’s leader.

Caleb Williams has become the unquestioned focal point of this Bears squad. He earned that right after his breakout season last year, leading seven 4th quarter comebacks and setting the franchise record with 3,941 passing yards. One of the things he’s most proud of is his ability to protect the football. Williams does not like throwing interceptions. So you can imagine how he reacted when Bryant cut in front of Jahdae Walker for one during practice to snuff out a two-minute drill.

It was a picture-perfect play. The safety read it well, stayed patient, and broke to the ball right as Williams was turning Walker’s way. Bryant admitted the quarterback wasn’t happy about it. That suited the safety just fine. He admitted during an interview after practice that Williams is an elite competitor. It’s easy to understand why he had so much success in clutch situations last year. Getting to be part of that is exciting for him. Yet the real thrill is going against Williams in practice.

Bryant is bringing what Johnson wanted.

Every great team needs a veteran presence who isn’t afraid to challenge everybody. You find one on almost every championship team across history. You had Ben Zobrist on the 2016 Cubs. Marian Hossa helped guide the dynasty Blackhawks. A.J. Pierzynski was the unquestioned voice of the 2005 White Sox. Coach Johnson felt this Bears team needed somebody like that. They don’t have to be a superstar. It is more about being a good player with great work habits who challenges everybody to match his intensity.

That is Coby Bryant. Word is the Seahawks really wanted him back, knowing what he meant to their locker room. The money just wasn’t there. Chicago took full advantage. He may not be a hot ticket pass rusher or a cover corner, but the man knows how to impact games. If the Bears want to learn how to win big games, it starts on the practice field. That is something Johnson has been harping on since he arrived. Now they have a player who speaks the same language.