Brian Baldinger played in the NFL for a long time as an offensive lineman. He went against some great defensive tackles. Since retiring, he has spent years watching loads of new players come into the league. He has a more experienced eye than most for recognizing the good ones. That is why his surprising excitement with Jordan Van Den Berg was notable. Usually, a prominent analyst like Baldinger won’t bother much with later round picks. However, it appears the Chicago Bears‘ 6th round selection caught his eye.

He did one of his usual breakdowns of Van Den Berg’s Georgia Tech tape. It was far more impressive than he expected. The South African native is more capable than his draft status suggests. Baldinger sees explosion, quickness, core strength, and body control. All are critical to success in the NFL for somebody his size. It reminded him of another such player: a young Grady Jarrett. That feels like a prominent name to drop, considering the two-time Pro Bowler was a 5th round pick himself, and is also Van Den Berg’s new teammate.

Comparing Jordan Van Den Berg to Jarrett sounds lazy.

After all, them ending up on the same team together is an easy dot to connect. However, once you start looking at the measurables, the two line up well. Van Den Berg is slightly taller and heavier, but their length is exactly the same. Where things start diverging, and where Bears fans should get excited, is the testing numbers. Van Den Berg was superior to Jarrett in every category: 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, and vertical jump. He also had seven more reps on the bench press. This means he is stronger both in his upper and lower body.

Now this alone doesn’t guarantee NFL success. Part of what made Jarrett so good was his ability to evolve as a player. That meant mastering technique and fundamentals to an extent where he had a counter for everything opposing blockers threw at him. That is often the last step many defensive linemen don’t reach. From what Baldinger says, Van Den Berg is already moving down that path.

The Bears won’t make it easy for the rookie.

After all, the team made more than one addition to the defensive tackle room this spring. Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, and James Lynch all arrived via free agency in March. Remember, the Bears carried four defensive tackles on the depth chart last season. With Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, and Gallimore likely guaranteed roster spots, that means Jordan Van Den Berg must beat out Street and Lynch for the last one. Draft status alone won’t decide the outcome. This coaching staff is big on competition.

Not that such a thing will scare the rookie. He’s been an adult for some time, already owning his own business. This is a young man who took a gamble by leaving a prominent program like Penn State to chase playing time at Georgia Tech. It paid off. If he puts in the same focus this summer and listens to Jarrett’s tips, he should end up not just making the roster but getting serious playing time. After all, he is the most explosive player they have in the middle. The Bears would love to use it if they can trust him enough.

The Chicago Bears‘ defense really struggled at times last season. Part of the reason for that was injuries. Several key players were lost for long stretches, often a month or more. Jaylon Johnson didn’t return until midway through the season after a nasty groin issue popped up during the summer. Free agent Grady Jarrett developed a knee problem that hampered him for weeks. Dayo Odeyingbo tore his Achilles. Shemar Turner tore his ACL. Tremaine Edmunds missed a month. T.J. Edwards missed two months. Austin Booker didn’t debut until week nine after a preseason knee injury. Yet none were as frustrating as Kyler Gordon.

Chicago’s former 2nd round pick has flashed loads of high-end capability since arriving in 2022. When he’s on the field, the young cornerback is an X-factor who impacts games in multiple ways. Unfortunately, Gordon has developed a reputation for always being hurt. He missed 13 games last season, including two separate stints on Injured Reserve. Almost all the ailments were soft-tissue in nature, raising questions about his preparation and conditioning. Now, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, it has already happened again.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who was married at the beginning of May according to his Instagram account, has yet to report. That’s not overly surprising given how he has operated.

And nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who sources said wasn’t with the team at the outset of the offseason program, has since been out with a soft-tissue injury. Gordon missed 14 regular-season games in 2025 and had two stints on injured reserve with groin, hamstring and calf injuries that initially sidelined him in the first week of August.

Kyler Gordon is fast becoming a sunk cost.

Remember, the Bears signed him to a three-year, $40 million extension in April of 2024. Even then, it was considered a risk since the cornerback had missed nine games over the previous three years with various injuries. Still, they felt his talent was worth it. Gordon then went on to play in just three games last season. He counts $12.9 million against the salary cap this year. At some point, the organization has to step back and ask the difficult question. How many more opportunities should they give him before it’s enough?

Being injured again before OTAs have even started is a fitting encapsulation of Kyler Gordon. It is always something. For a player who calls himself Spiderman, he sure doesn’t have the same durability as Peter Parker. Cutting him is out of the question. The Bears would be on the hook for too much dead money. That leaves two options. Either the team decides to put his starting job up for grabs in training camp, or they look to trade him. The latter would net the team $10 million in cap space.

Would anybody be willing to take the risk? That is the difficult part.

Gordon, at the very least, has squandered his grace period.

The Bears held plenty of belief in him when they offered that contract. He was looking like somebody who could be the best nickel corner in the NFL. Sadly, he’s slipping more and more into that category of “what if he’d stayed healthy?” Make no mistake, this doesn’t feel like a coaching staff that will maintain the status quo. They drafted Malik Muhammad in the 4th round for a reason. Cam Lewis was also brought over from Buffalo. He has nickel experience. Gordon won’t go unchallenged for his job this time. Either he gets his body right, or somebody else will send him to the pasture.

Some may call it bad luck. Part of that is true. Injuries are difficult to predict. However, soft tissue problems are often prevented by proper conditioning. Somewhere in his preparation, Gordon is doing something wrong. Maybe it’s his warm-up habits. Maybe it’s not using the right exercises. Whatever the case, it’s getting to a point where enough is enough. If he can’t stay on the field, then the Bears should actively search for somebody who can. This is where you trust defensive backs coach Al Davis to find the right guy.

Fans have grown tired of the entire Chicago Bears stadium saga. This issue should’ve been long settled by now. There are literally other NFL teams that have started new stadium projects after the Bears and are already building. Yet this team can’t even get things squared away with the state government because they have approached talks with an appalling lack of preparation. The latest example is not having a traffic study on hand to help sway lawmakers on the PILOT megaprojects bill that would give them the infrastructure assistance they need. This is before getting into other blunders that have slowed talks to a crawl. That falls at the feet of Kevin Warren.

The Bears’ team president was hired in 2022 to oversee the stadium negotiations. He’d helped Minnesota do the same with U.S. Bank Stadium in the late 2010s. His experience was the biggest selling point for his hire. Yet signs keep growing that he has zero grasp of the situation and is flailing around looking for answers. He constantly pivots from one potential site to another, catching the Illinois government by surprise and ultimately doing more harm than good. The latest example was supposedly the re-engagement of talks with the city about a lakefront stadium. Senator Robert Peters finally became the first public official to openly say, via the Chicago Tribune, what fans have begun to realize.

Kevin Warren has no clue what he’s doing.

State Sen. Robert Peters, a Chicago Democrat whose district encompasses Soldier Field, expressed frustration at Warren and how, despite his success in helping the Minnesota Vikings secure a new stadium, “he is now being known for this three-year cluster mess of the Bears stadium deal, and his approach to it.”

“We have come to this place where it’s an easy narrative about the governor versus the mayor. And I don’t think that’s the right narrative. The main narrative is that the Bears have been totally inept in this entire process,” he said Thursday.

“None of us want to have our heart broken seeing the team we love move,” Peters said. “What we also don’t want to see is the team we love bamboozle us.”

No lies were told in that statement.

The reality is, Warren has nobody to blame but himself for this mess. He already had the table set for him when he arrived. Property had already been purchased in Arlington Heights. All the Bears needed was to work with the state government on a property tax and infrastructure solution. If Warren had spent all his time focused on that rather than pivoting to a new lakefront stadium and then flirting with other local suburbs for several months, the issue would likely have been resolved by now.

It took him three years to even consider the idea of using Indiana as leverage. Yet even when he did that, he somehow bungled it. This rumor that the Bears secretly spoke to Chicago’s leadership about a lakefront stadium suggests Warren never really got over Illinois saying no to that option the first time. It was clear the Bears president was obsessed with the idea. He wanted it to be the crowning jewel of his tenure. Having it ripped away clearly didn’t sit well with him

Now his misguided communication once again derailed the negotiations that matter.

George McCaskey could end this if he wanted.

The Bears chairman was the one who “scouted” and eventually hired Kevin Warren. It was almost entirely for this specific reason. That it hasn’t come to pass after five years is a clear indication that the man can’t close the deal. Nobody would begrudge ownership if they decided to make a change. There has to be somebody else who can do a better job, both in terms of organization and communication. Even somebody already working for the team. Unfortunately, McCaskey isn’t the type to do something like that.

Bears ownership has long been one of slow movement on any decisions. They’ll stick with coaches or general managers who are clearly not up to the task for longer than necessary for the sake of continuity, and hoping that said person can grow into the job. Besides, it would be humiliating to fire the man they hired specifically for this stadium job before it is even finished. Thus, the ship moves forward, colliding with icebergs, garbage patches, and sandbars along the way.

The Chicago Bears did not regret their swerve during the draft last month when they took LSU wide receiver Zavion Thomas in the 3rd round. Most experts saw him going in the later rounds or even undrafted. Head coach Ben Johnson saw a unique talent who could do all sorts of different things. He was a speedy vertical threat with great return talent. Beyond that, he was deceptively strong for his size, showcasing an ability to break tackles after the catch. That presented opportunities for creative play designers like Johnson.

Yet that isn’t likely what drew the Bears to Thomas. Something about his mental makeup spoke to them. They didn’t just see a raw talent needing development. They saw somebody itching to get better. Coaches found that out from the moment he arrived for practices at Halas Hall. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower met with the rookie during minicamps and was asked a question. It wasn’t the usual one you expect about specific responsibilities and assignments. It was much grander in scope.

“He’s eager to be great. … One of his first questions was, ‘Why, coach, do most rookies not succeed in the NFL? What holds people back?’ So that told me right there about his mindset.”

Zavion Thomas already demonstrates clear maturity.

Most rookies wouldn’t have the humility or wherewithal to ask a question like that. They’re too focused on getting into the playbook and excited about finally being in the NFL. They don’t stop to wonder what will truly be required for them to find success at this level. Thomas did. He knows that if he’s going to reach his potential, he must embrace the work habits of a professional. That means making some serious sacrifices. You must be willing to devote time and energy beyond usual practices and film sessions to hone your craft.

That is what Hightower and the other coaches would’ve told him. There is no big secret to NFL success. Many players have the talent to make it at this level. It is a simple fact that most of them aren’t willing to put in the extra work. Jerry Rice didn’t become the greatest because of his pure skill. He was the son of a bricklayer. Hard work was wired into his DNA, and it carried him to the top. It sounds like Thomas is mentally prepared to do the same. All he needs is guidance on the right habits.

The Bears’ focus on character continues to show.

Through the first few years of Ryan Poles’ tenure as general manager, the team was focused on finding elite physical specimens they could hopefully mold into great players. That only works if you have a great coaching staff, which the Bears did not. Johnson did not want to take such chances once he took over. That is why he instructed Poles to shift strategies. Moving forward, the Bears would put a much higher premium on football character. They want guys who love the game and love the grind. Take football away and they won’t know what to do.

It sounds like that encapsulates Zavion Thomas. He went through a lot to reach this point. His college career didn’t go as planned. His head coach at Mississippi State was fired in Thomas’ second season. Then, after transferring to LSU, his head coach was again fired in his second season. Combine that with quarterback injuries and he never really got the chance to fully discover how good he could be. It sounds like he is more determined than ever to make the most of this opportunity.