It was one of those “Where were you when-” moments of recent Chicago Bears history. The team went into primetime on the road against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. They were 8-3 and cruising towards another division title. However, Chicago had reasons to be confident. They’d won eight of their last nine games thanks to the explosive offense directed by head coach Ben Johnson and captained by quarterback Caleb Williams. Just over 280 rushing yards and one backbreaking touchdown pass later, the Bears stunned the Eagles for their biggest win of the season at that point.

Yet this isn’t what people remember. All they can see is the moment Johnson stripped off his shirt in the postgame locker room to celebrate with the team, fulfilling a bet made by local food stop The Wieners Circle that they’d provide free hot dogs to all patrons if he did so. The reaction was as raucous as you’d expect. However, the moment wasn’t nearly as spontaneous as Johnson would have people believe.

Williams exposed that truth on the New Heights podcast, explaining to the Kelce brothers that he spotted Johnson lifting weights in the weeks leading up to that moment, making sure he was in good shape.

Caleb Williams remains unafraid to needle his head coach.

This is a perfect reminder that Johnson is very much not the spontaneous type. Everything is calculated with him. He knew about the bet from the Wieners Circle and immediately recognized its potential to motivate his players. All he had to do was wait for the right moment. He chose well. Beating the defending champs in primetime in their own house is as big as it gets. Everybody in that locker room was feeling good. Johnson knew it was the perfect time to rev them up.

It worked beautifully. As Caleb Williams said, the locker room went crazy. Everybody was into it. For all the talk about his mathematical brain and stoicism on the sideline, Coach Johnson has a good grasp of team psychology. Yet like any normal human being, he is self-conscious about his image. There was no way he was taking that shirt off in front of millions watching at home without making sure every muscle was tight. Williams, to his ongoing credit, wasn’t about to let his coach get away with that.

This relationship will be healthy.

You often find that the most productive quarterback-head coach relationships are where the two men are on the same page. They speak the same language but also hold each other accountable. Johnson has reiterated at every turn that Williams must get better if he wants to be great and win a championship. At the same time, Williams takes playful digs at his head coach to remind him he’s human. All the while, both of them are hard workers and maniacal competitors. It isn’t hard to see why they were immediately successful together.

Everybody is eager to see what the two can accomplish in 2026. Williams enters the second year in Johnson’s offense. That usually comes with a considerable bump in production. Early indications are that the quarterback looks so much more comfortable than he did at this time last year. No doubt Johnson plans to open up the playbook even further as that comfort grows. Who knows what shenanigans they’ll get up to once the season rolls around? Will they be able to top that night in Philly? We’ll soon find out.

Rome Odunze was on track to have the best season a Chicago Bears wide receiver has ever produced through the first month of the 2025 season. At his pace through the first four games, he would’ve finished with 1,258 yards and 21 touchdowns. The guy was eating. Then things just seemed to die down. Something seemed off. Odunze wasn’t running routes with the same urgency. His explosiveness wasn’t there. It didn’t take long to find out what happened because he soon went on Injured Reserve with a foot injury.

The wide receiver had apparently suffered a stress fracture in one of the bones. This meant every time he ran caused immense pain. It was hoped the month off would give it time to settle down, but full recovery couldn’t happen until the offseason. Odunze did return and had some good games, but he was never the same. Thankfully, he’s had time to rest the injury. Has he made a full recovery? Well, his recent comments didn’t exactly ease fears. Not just about the 2026 season, but his future in general.

“This is my new normal. And it’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain but the way my foot broke there’s callouses in there that create a different type of foot structure with those bones — different types of things that kind of shift things around. So my new normal is kind of what I am going into.”

What does this mean? Sports medicine expert Mason West broke it down. By the sound of things, Odunze likely may never be the player he was.

What this means for Rome Odunze is complicated.

Former Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson has extensive experience with this type of injury. He suffered it on two different occasions. The first time came during his rookie year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Recovery from that wasn’t an issue, and he went on to produce at a very high level for multiple seasons. However, he suffered a similar injury to the opposite foot during his ninth season in 2022 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams. That one basically ended his career.

Odunze still being young may end up helping him. The good news is it sounds like pain isn’t the issue. It is whether he can get comfortable with the new structure of his foot. Early signs are promising based on the bomb he caught from Caleb Williams in OTAs. Still, this revelation actually explains a lot about some recent events during the Bears’ offseason. Most notably, it better clarifies the decision to draft Zavion Thomas in the 3rd round and why head coach Ben Johnson strongly hinted that Luther Burden could be the #1 guy in the passing game.

The Bears are maneuvering away from Odunze as WR1.

Drafting him 9th overall in 2024 was a clear indication that general manager Ryan Poles had the highest hopes for him. Nobody balked at the idea then. Many saw Rome Odunze as one of the best receivers in college football. Unfortunately, it seems that the entire draft class is snakebit. Marvin Harrison Jr. has underachieved in Arizona. Malik Nabers suffered a catastrophic knee injury. Brian Thomas Jr. is on the outs in Jacksonville. Xavier Worthy? Ricky Pearsall? Xavier Leggette? None has become a true go-to target.

The Bears won’t sit around waiting for Rome Odunze to figure things out. They’re already building the new passing game around tight end Colston Loveland. It sounds like Burden is positioning himself to be the second option. Thomas, who many thought was a project, is already turning heads in practice. If he’s not careful, Odunze could find himself phased out of the offense completely. This is easily the most important season of his career. Whatever the issue is with that foot, he must find a way to deal with it.

One thing we’ve learned about Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson since he took over is that his capacity for patience is limited. This is not someone who will give you a long grace period if you’re not meeting his standards. A perfect example of that last season was how often he changed left tackles. Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet were both benched. Then, after Ozzy Trapilo injured his knee, he chose to shift Joe Thuney to that spot rather than reinsert either of them. Once he’s lost faith in you, it’s really hard to regain it. That is why cornerback Kyler Gordon might be in big trouble.

Nobody argued that he was worth keeping when the Bears extended him. His value as a nickel cornerback was obvious every time he was on the field. Yet even then, it was clear they were taking a risk. Gordon was developing a reputation for health issues, having missed multiple games every season. Last season was pretty much the worst-case scenario, as Gordon played in only three games all year due to various injuries. Johnson made it crystal clear that he’d better find a way to stay healthy this season.

“We spoke last year and neither one of us were really happy with how it went just from a perspective of being available to get to know each other. I think he only played in three games when I look back at it, and so, you know, this spring was going to be a springboard for us to get going in the right direction. We’re still working through that. We’re still trying to get that availability piece going. We know he’s a good player when he’s out there but trust level is a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room and you can only develop that trust by being available.”

Kyler Gordon isn’t just struck by bad luck.

There is something deeper going on. It’d be one thing if concussions, bone breaks, or ligament injuries were the problem. Those are things a player can’t really control. With Gordon, it’s different. Most of his problems have been soft-tissue in nature: hamstrings, groin, and calves. With today’s modern sports medicine, problems like that almost never happen unless there is a serious flaw in a player’s preparation and conditioning. Either Gordon is getting really bad advice on that front, or he’s not putting in the necessary work.

If it’s the latter, then it’s not hard to see why Johnson would be frustrated. Gordon already arrived at OTAs hurt. He hasn’t practiced yet. That is liable to drive the head coach insane after what happened last season. It further justifies the team’s decision to draft Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad in the 4th round. He should help serve as an insurance policy. If this continues, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bears just decided to bring in some veteran help as well.

Gordon has nobody to blame but himself.

He can be forgiven for missing time with concussion issues. Everything else was preventable. Most of his teammates didn’t suffer nearly the same problems. That either means his muscles are made of weak tissue paper, which is unlikely for a world-class athlete, or he’s done a poor job of preparing his body. Either way, he’s been put on notice. Johnson doesn’t care what kind of money he is being paid. If Kyler Gordon can’t put together a full season in 2026, there is a strong probability he won’t be in the starting lineup moving forward.

The best ability is availability. That is true for any sport, but especially the NFL. Everybody gets hurt. It is the nature of playing a violent game. It comes down to who can withstand the pain and play through it. From what we’ve seen of Gordon to this point, he can’t step on the field unless he’s pain-free. Other coaches might be willing to accept that. Johnson does not. His clear threat wasn’t meant to be subtle. Either get with the program or stay healthy on the bench.

No Chicago Bears player had ever made the cover of Madden. Roberto Garza technically did, but that was the Latino version. To think Caleb Williams, a quarterback, the position that has haunted the franchise for decades, was the one to finally do it is nothing short of miraculous. No doubt it was a controversial decision. Williams didn’t win the MVP or even make the Pro Bowl last season. He had the lowest completion percentage in the league. Many feel he was undeserving of the honor.

So how could the Madden creators at Electronic Arts justify such a decision? Their marketing strategist laid it out with an explanation. It stems from the long list of critical moments that led Williams to Chicago, and then the many more moments he engineered last season to get them to the playoffs.

“Caleb Williams is what a true face of the franchise looks like — the culmination of many moments in the Chicago Bears’ incredible history that has led them to their electric, generational quarterback. Madden NFL 27 aims to put more of those critical moments and key management decisions, with meaningful consequences that echo across the NFL, in the hands of our players so that they can build a league that’s truly their own. Just like Caleb, the future of football in ‘Madden NFL 27’ is thrilling and more dynamic than ever before.”

It’s hard to argue with that. Three of the top plays of the 2026 season, according to the NFL itself, were authored by Williams. One of them was his now-famous 4th and 8 throw to Rome Odunze against the Green Bay Packers. The play in which he created the Jumpman motion. Williams explained on the New Heights podcast that he pushed to make that the cover for Madden, believing it was the perfect homage to the greatest Chicago icon of all: Michael Jordan.

Caleb Williams remains as dedicated to Chicago as ever.

Make no mistake, a big part of this was business-motivated. Not long after that incredible throw to Odunze in the playoffs, outlines of the Jumpman pose started surfacing online. Williams moved quickly to trademark it. Getting it on the Madden cover is a brilliant way for him to capitalize financially. The same goes for his “Iceman” pose, which is being used for the Deluxe edition. Nobody can argue the kid has a savvy business sense well beyond his years, no doubt thanks to an education from his father, Carl.

That said, his comments about honoring Jordan’s all-time photo were genuine. Williams has made it his mission to embrace Chicago as his home and the city he wants to represent. You can see it in many ways. You’ll often find him out on the town, attending Bulls, Blackhawks, and Cubs games. He’s friends with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matas Buzelis. Best of all, he has fully embraced the rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, trolling them at every possible opportunity.

Williams has one big challenge ahead of him now.

He has to back up his words. Getting on the Madden cover is a tremendous honor. Proving that he deserves it is on the agenda for 2026. People talk about the Madden curse all the time. More than anything, it comes down to whether players can prove they are worth the hype. Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, and Calvin Johnson all did. If Caleb Williams wants to put himself in that conversation, he can’t let last season be a fluke. He needs to improve on what he accomplished, ascending to the superstar status the cover represents.

Expectations are high. It’s his second year in Ben Johnson’s offense. He is surrounded by a talented group of weapons. All the elements are there for a big season. He’ll have to do it against a first place schedule, led by a loaded division. In truth, Williams wouldn’t have it any other way. He wants to be challenged. He wants to be the best. If he has to go through lots of good teams to do it, all the better. Just like Jordan, he isn’t afraid of anybody or anything.

Illinois politics have always been unreliable. Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. The rot has always run deep, which is why the state government takes forever to make decisions on anything. That is why it was always baffling that the Chicago Bears thought they could cruise their way to a new stadium after purchasing the Arlington Heights property in 2021. The McCaskey family might be rich, but everybody knew they had almost zero presence in the political landscape, meaning they didn’t have any connections to help facilitate the process. This is probably one of the many reasons why the state of Indiana felt so confident it could eventually lure the organization south.

Illinois would drag its feet like always.

Sure enough, the government’s attempt to hammer out a last-second bill that would’ve given the Bears the property tax incentives they needed died in the House. Despite assurances from representatives that a solution is still within reach, most can see the writing on the wall. There is no way this gets resolved in 2026. This is probably why Indiana Governor Mike Braun sounded so confident that the Bears would eventually decide to move to Hammond in the next month. If that weren’t enough, the state is planning one final haymaker to knock Illinois out of the running for good. Russ McQuaid of Fox59 had the details.

An unexpected wrinkle that could become part of the Indiana offer was raised Tuesday in that Hoosiers could be asked for a potential sweetener to seal the deal while Illinois continues to stumble and play the blame game.

During a meeting of the Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission, Jay Wilkinson of Hoosier Investments told other commission members that Indiana might be asked to pony up some cash help to buy the Bears out of their Soldier Field lease.

That price tag could be upward of $90 million if the team leaves early to move its Sunday games to Hammond.

Soldier Field remains a persistent thorn in the Chicago Bears’ side.

The franchise paid off their portion of the bill after the renovations in 2003. The city is on the hook for the rest. However, reports indicate that Mayor Brandon Johnson and his faction are constantly trying to block any move by the Bears until they agree to pay off the remaining balance. That, of course, is a non-starter for the Bears. That said, the lease, which runs through 2033, isn’t something they can avoid. They will have to pay to get out of it early. Indiana handling that bill, and allowing the McCaskeys to pocket that $90 million, is a perfect final gesture to close the deal.

At that point, nobody is dumb enough to say no. Indiana has laid the groundwork beautifully. They’ve provided all the legislation and incentives the Chicago Bears have wanted. The Hammond property is massive and ripe for development. Only one thing stands in the way. That is the McCaskeys’ hesitance to leave Illinois, which has been the team’s home for over a century. It is a legacy built by the great George Halas, a Chicago native. Justifying such a move can’t be easy. Yet Illinois has made it impossible to do otherwise.

Indiana knows they have Illinois on the ropes.

They’ve been very careful with their approach to this situation, trying not to spook the Bears. Like a veteran boxer, they have basically let Illinois punch themselves out. It’s the 12th round. This is the time to go for the knockout. They sense the moment. Offering to pay the Soldier Field exit fee is a masterful piece of political maneuvering on their part. They’re making it so that the Bears can’t say no. In all honesty, anyone with business sense would’ve said yes already.

Illinois should consider itself lucky that the McCaskeys have hung onto hope this long. Most other owners would’ve bolted years ago. Now, that doesn’t mean the state is totally to blame for this. They’ve been looking out for taxpayers, making sure any deal doesn’t leave them footing the bill. That is a good thing. However, the divided nature of the government has still made it so that everybody needs a slice of the pie. Once such infighting takes over, hopes for a resolution go out the window.

We have a pretty good idea of which Chicago Bears players are on the hot seat this upcoming season. Tyrique Stevenson, Grady Jarrett, and T.J. Edwards are three names that immediately come to mind. These are players who really disappointed last season and are in line to lose their jobs if they don’t rebound in 2026. However, here is a somewhat more interesting question. Who are the players on the cusp of joining the hot seat? These are guys who still have some credibility, either due to performance or draft status, but are rapidly running out.

If they can’t deliver on their potential with a productive season this year, there is a strong probability that the Bears will go hunting for either competition or outright replacements in 2027. After looking over the depth chart ahead of training camp, three names stand out.

These Chicago Bears are running empty on grace periods.

WR Rome Odunze

It’s a good thing the Bears traded D.J. Moore. Otherwise, fans and media might’ve explored the topic of how frankly disappointing Odunze has been over his first two seasons. Chicago selected him 9th overall in 2024. That comes with high expectations. So far, Odunze has certainly flashed that potential, but his consistency has been a major problem. In 29 games, he’s been credited with eight official dropped passes. The number could be even higher depending on who you ask. That is not an acceptable number for a top 10 pick.

If that weren’t enough, he also missed five games last season with a stress fracture in his foot. Recently hearing head coach Ben Johnson say you should buy stock in Luther Burden wasn’t a coincidence. The coaching staff doesn’t see Odunze as a true #1 guy. If he doesn’t do something to change that perspective this season, there is a strong probability that he could get steadily relegated to third or fourth target in the offense.

CB Kyler Gordon

This is fast becoming the biggest what-if scenario in recent Chicago Bears history. Remember how people always wondered what Mike Brown’s career would’ve been like had he stayed healthy? This is the same conversation that is starting to envelop Gordon. Nobody can argue that the former 2nd round pick is a really good player. One of the better nickel cornerbacks in the league when he’s on the field. Therein lay the problem, though. Gordon has missed 23 games across his first four seasons in the NFL.

The best ability is availability, and the cornerback hasn’t shown any signs of fixing that problem. He was even hurt again before the start of OTAs, limiting his participation. Patience is wearing thin among fans. The Bears drafted Malik Muhammad in the 4th round and are already working him in the slot. It is beyond evident that the team is preparing for life after Gordon unless he turns things around this year.

EDGE Austin Booker

The Chicago Bears didn’t spend any money or a draft pick on edge rushers this offseason. That was by far the biggest shock to everybody, given where their pass rush was at the end of 2025. While general manager Ryan Poles insisted it was because the team wanted to give the returning Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner a chance to build on what they started, most believe the team was leaving the door wide open for Booker to, hopefully, ascend to become a legitimate starter.

Chicago has waited patiently for the former 5th round pick to develop since 2024. It looked like last year would be a breakout, but a knee injury in the preseason stunted his progress. After a slow start upon his return, he had 4.5 sacks in his final six games of the year. Word is he’s in peak shape ahead of 2026. Teams don’t usually afford players this kind of opportunity. If Booker can’t put it all together now, you can bet his role will significantly decrease next year as the Bears revamp the entire defensive line.

The Chicago Bears created a bit of controversy two months ago when they selected Sam Roush in the 3rd round. Nobody could understand why. When you have plenty of roster holes to address, adding another tight end when you already have two really good ones didn’t make logistical sense. Experts painted it as Ben Johnson’s signal that he plans to utilize “13” personnel a lot more often this season, and you need three tight ends to do it effectively. Others felt the Bears couldn’t pass up a chance to add one of the best pure blockers in the draft. However, a few believed the team felt Roush was a way better player than most people realized.

Add Caleb Williams to that list. The Bears quarterback did the usual leadership thing by welcoming the tight end to Chicago when he was drafted. Beyond that, he didn’t have much opinion on it. That has definitely changed. Williams has gotten a chance to work with Roush in practice over the past couple of weeks. He was more than a little impressed. If you don’t believe it, just watch the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. They mentioned that the Bears have two stud tight ends, Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.

Williams immediately corrected them. It’s three now.

Sam Roush had support even before Williams.

Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer was the tight end’s high school coach. He was adamant in a recent interview that people have no idea how good Roush is. Yes, he’s a terrific blocker. That doesn’t mean he can’t do anything else. He has the speed and hands to be a legitimate threat in the passing game. The problem is that he never really had many opportunities to showcase it at Stanford. This was due to a mix of poor quarterback play and instability at the head coach position.

It hasn’t taken Williams long to catch onto this reality. He’s only been working directly with Roush for a handful of practices, and he’s already saying stuff like this publicly. The Bears quarterback isn’t one to say things just for the sake of fluff. He is honest with his comments because he has good reasons. We’ve seen that for over two years now. If he says Sam Roush is on par with Loveland and Kmet in terms of capability, you’d best pay attention. This is something that will come to light when the games start happening in September.

Williams is a conduit for Johnson.

It is clearer than ever than quarterback and head coach are on the same page. Williams spent a full season in that offense. He now has a much better grasp of its capability and where Johnson wants to go next. It is almost certain that the quarterback knew the intentions of drafting Roush immediately. The fact that he has bought in this much already is a major vote of confidence. We already saw snippets of “13” personnel last season. Johnson used it to great effect in the run game and play-action.

The only issue was that third tight end. Durham Smythe was a good blocker, but not much of a threat in the passing game. That could change with Roush. Many compare him to Kmet in terms of body type and talent. If that is true, the Bears now have three tight ends who pose problems because they could be on the field in any situation, and nobody will have a clue what their likely responsibilities are. That scares defenses to death. Williams can already see the potential benefits.