It was evident in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams that the Chicago Bears must learn to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball if they want to cross the finish line next year. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson took a step in the right direction last year with their overhaul of the offensive line. Now they must see if they can duplicate that success on defense.

Not to mention they must also address other problematic areas at safety and linebacker. It isn’t an easy process, but this is one way they could go about it.

The latest Chicago Bears 2026 mock offseason shifts focus to development.

Trade:

RB D’Andre Swift and 7th round pick to Kansas City for a 5th round pick

Eric Bieniemy just got the best season out of D’Andre Swift in his career. Kansas City needs running back help. A reunion between the two could be helpful for both sides. Meanwhile, the Bears improved their draft situation while allowing Johnson to possibly retool the running back room more to his liking.

Cuts/Restructures:

• Montez Sweat – 1-year extension (with void years) to save $16 million
• Tremaine Edmunds – released for $15 million
• D.J. Moore – conversion for $18.5 million
• Joe Thuney – conversion for $11.76 million
• Kiran Amegadjie – released for $1.05 million

Re-signings:

• Kevin Byard – 2-year deal for $15.6 million ($3.84 million cap hit in 2026)
• Braxton Jones – 1-year deal for $4.5 million
• D’Marco Jackson – 1-year deal for $1.33 million
• Dominique Robinson – 1-year deal for $1.33 million
• Jonathan Owens – 1-year deal for $1.26 million
• Daniel Hardy – 1-year deal for $1.26 million
• Noah Sewell – 1-year deal for $1.26 million
• Durham Smythe – 1-year deal for $1.07 million
• Jordan McFadden – 1-year deal for $1.07 million
• Scott Daly – 1-year deal for $1.07 million
• Theo Benedet – 1-year deal for $1.07 million
• Case Keenum – 1-year deal for $885,000

Free agency:

• RB Travis Etienne – 3-year deal for $21 million
• LB Justin Strnad – 2-year deal for $8 million
• DT John Franklin-Myers – 2-year deal for $15 million ($3.76 million cap hit in 2026)

The Bears have been connected to Etienne multiple times since last offseason. It is evident that somebody inside Halas Hall is a big fan. It is easy to see why with his great mix of athleticism, speed, and contact balance. Strnad is coming off a standout season in Denver, where he recorded 4.5 sacks despite playing only part-time. His teammate, Franklin-Myers, was among the most disruptive interior rushers in the league.

The Draft:

Trade: 25th pick to New England for 31st pick and 3rd round pick

1st Round (via NE) – Christen Miller, DT, Georgia

The comparisons to Kenny Clark are plenty valid. Miller probably won’t overwhelm you with his pass rush skills, even though he’s better than you think. His calling card is outstanding awareness and strength to plug gaps in the middle, making it incredibly difficult to run the ball anywhere in his vicinity. Andrew Billings is a free agent and the Bears have struggled to stop the run for years. Miller is a big step in fixing that.

2nd Round – Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami

Mark this down. If Mesidor weren’t already 24 years old, he would likely be a high 1st round pick. He was that dominant this season for the Hurricanes. His mix of power, quickness, and insanely hot motor made him the bane of all offensive tackles everywhere. Getting him in the 2nd round is a massive coup for the Bears. While older for a rookie, he’s highly experienced and can play immediately.

3rd Round – Zakee Wheatley, S, Penn State

There was no way this Chicago Bears 2026 mock offseason would conclude without the team adding another body at safety. In the tradition of Penn State products, he’s a big, versatile athlete with a strong nose for the football. It is almost impossible to slip anything past him.

3rd Round (via NE) – J.C. Davis, OT, Illinois

Davis was viewed as a raw, developmental prospect going into the 2025 season. He showed at the Senior Bowl that he has learned a lot since then. He’s big with quick feet and a natural feel for pass protection. Improving his lower body strength should be a focus moving forward.

4th Round – Keylan Rutledge, IOL, Georgia Tech

One of the nastiest guards in this draft. Rutledge is a bully in the run game, almost to the point of crossing the line. He can anchor in pass protection and is willing to battle it out with anybody. With Joe Thuney getting older, the Bears must keep investing in their future at the position.

5th Round (via KC) – Cyrus Allen, WR, Cincinnati

While undersized by NFL standards at 5’11, 180 lbs, Allen is probably one of the best route-runners in this draft. His cuts are fluid and sharp, catching defensive backs flat-footed. He has enough speed to create separation and is much better at contested catches than his slight frame would have you believe.

5th Round – Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU

Dennis Allen likes athletic linebackers. Perkins checks that box. He has outstanding range that makes it impossible to run away from him. He’s also a dangerous blitzer, which fits Allen’s aggressive style. The problem, as with Ruben Hyppolite, is that he’s on the smaller side.

7th Round – Jaren Kanak, TE, Oklahoma

Tight end is not a need for the Bears, but it’s clearly a position Coach Johnson values. After losing Colston Loveland in the playoff loss to L.A., he may wish to get some extra insurance at the position. Somebody who can go out, run routes, and catch passes. Kanak has those capabilities.

The Chicago Bears have several questions they must answer over the next four months. By far one of the biggest is what to do at left tackle. Ozzy Trapilo looked like their long-term answer with a strong finish to the 2025 season, but then tore his patella in the wild card win over Green Bay. He is now expected to miss training camp and likely multiple games of next season. It puts GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson in an awkward spot. What do they do for an emergency solution to this problem? Funny story. You may recall Braxton Jones.

Chicago’s former 5th round pick began last season as the entrenched starter. Unfortunately, injuries slowed and then derailed him entirely. He was eventually benched for Theo Benedet and landed on IR with a knee problem. This was in addition to still not having entirely recovered from a broken ankle that ended his 2024 season. Most expected Jones would leave in free agency, seeking new opportunities elsewhere. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune believes Trapilo’s injury may have changed those plans.

Jones and the Bears could use each other one more time.

It’s worth wondering if the Bears would consider bringing back Braxton Jones, which potentially could aid both parties. The current coaching staff hasn’t seen Jones fully healthy. He pressed all offseason to return from a fractured ankle in time for training camp. He battled in an effort to get stronger, and I don’t think he ever got there before he was benched just before halftime of the Week 4 game in Las Vegas. Then a minor knee injury during a practice in October led to an IR stint.

Jones didn’t have the kind of season he was hoping for in a contract year. A one-year deal to return to the Bears healthy and play in place of Trapilo could give him the opportunity to restore his market value.

Bringing back Braxton Jones does make sense.

It’s not an ideal solution, but it might be the best one the Bears have. Let’s think about this. The 2026 free-agent class is best described as weak. There are no obvious starters worth targeting, and those who are remotely close will demand ridiculous contracts to acquire. As for the draft, the Bears are picking late in the 1st round. That isn’t a traditional hotbed for good blindside protectors. Besides, putting a rookie at that spot is always dangerous early in a season. The Bears didn’t do it with Trapilo until the second half of the year.

Braxton Jones is experienced, having started 44 games for the team. His injury setbacks will have cooled whatever market he has this spring, making it easier to secure him at a favorable price. He knows Ben Johnson’s offensive system. Last but not least, he should be fully healthy now. It makes sense. Jones may not be a true fixture at left tackle, but he can absolutely serve as a bridge option until Trapilo is healthy. If he performs well, it will boost his market going into 2027, where he’ll make far more money.

The Chicago Bears have some difficult roster decisions to make this offseason. They are over the salary cap, even with the ceiling rising to over $300 million. It is all but likely GM Ryan Poles and the coaching staff will make some tough sacrifices to get under the cap and in a position to retool the roster. Most of the discussions have centered around wide receiver D.J. Moore and whether they could trade him. However, it sounds like the big name who might be on a path out of town is Tremaine Edmunds.

Team insider Brad Biggs sounded pretty confident that the veteran linebacker could be on borrowed time after a disappointing finish to the season.

Linebacker looms as a likely need for the Bears this offseason. The front office will have some tough roster decisions to make as it weighs salary-cap implications. As good as Tremaine Edmunds played in the first half of the season before a groin injury forced him to spend four weeks on injured reserve, he could be a potential cap casualty.

Edmunds was signed to a four-year, $72 million contract in 2023, and he has a $13.9 million base salary for 2026 with a $1 million roster bonus and $100,000 workout bonus for a total of $15 million in cash. If the Bears release him, they would create $15 million in cap space, and as much as they like a defender with such a good combination of height, length and range at the second level, his status looks tenuous from my vantage point.

This move isn’t overly surprising.

First and foremost, Edmunds was not acquired by the current coaching staff. He was a primary addition by Matt Eberflus to play in a different scheme. Dennis Allen likely has different requirements from his linebackers, which would explain why the Bears moved Edmunds out of the middle. It worked well at first, resulting in 83 tackles, a sack, and four interceptions across ten games. Then Edmunds got hurt. When he returned after a month, he didn’t have the same impact as before.

Tremaine Edmunds wasn’t helped by D’Marco Jackson.

The former undrafted free agent, who has been a backup his entire career, stepped in after he got hurt. Jackson had 30 tackles, a sack, and an interception in four starts, looking competent and effective in his role. Some even said the defense lost some of its mojo after the Bears benched Jackson once Edmunds returned. If Allen and the coaches saw the same thing, it isn’t hard to understand why they’d be willing to make changes. He just isn’t a fit for the type of scheme this staff wants to run.

While understandable, the fact is that releasing Tremaine Edmunds will reorient the Bears’ offseason plans. Up until now, the defensive line and safety have been easily the two biggest issues to address this spring. Cutting Edmunds and Noah Sewell hitting free agency makes linebacker a much bigger priority. We could see the team hit the position earlier than expected in the draft while also looking for solutions in free agency.

The Chicago Bears are closed. They were maybe 15-20 yards away from reaching the NFC Championship this season. They know they have a good enough core to make a run at a Super Bowl. The key is putting together one more strong offseason. That won’t be easy for GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson. They don’t have the resources they did last year. Salary cap space is limited, even with the significant jump in the cap ceiling to around $305 million. They also won’t be picking in the top 10 this time.

Even so, plenty of fans believe this the time for the team to go all in. Caleb Williams is still on his cheap rookie deal. The Bears must squeeze every possible drop out of their payroll while they can. However, two different high-level executives told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune they don’t see it happening. It is necessarily because the Bears can’t afford it. There are always ways to find the money. This is more about the reality that this 2026 crop of veteran players isn’t worth what it would take to sign them.

The Bears are more likely to search for bargains and focus on the draft.

When I say nothing would surprise me, some will interpret that as code for a splash move in the weeks and months to come. Trade for a marquee defensive lineman? Make a power-play move in free agency? Don’t rule anything out, but I’d probably set odds against both…

…It also wouldn’t surprise me if the Bears pick their spots in free agency — there isn’t an overwhelming crop of star players who will be available — and focus on adding another strong draft class.

“Not a great year for free agency,” one general manager said Tuesday as he walked into Whitney Hancock Stadium for practice. “I wouldn’t want to count on turning around my team with guys you’re going to wind up having to overpay to sign.”

Added an assistant GM: “This is really what free agency has kind of become. Look back over the past couple years. The guys that are actually available, it’s really never a list that’s going to blow you away. It’s the old deal where you’re better off with the devil you know than the devil you don’t. So teams are re-signing their own guys and there just aren’t many guys in their prime, healthy and coming off productive seasons that are even out there.

“Then you have to pay such a premium to have a chance for the guys that might fit that profile and are really good players that haven’t reached (age) 30. That’s why most teams, the good ones that have a clue what the hell they are doing, they really pick and choose.”

The Chicago Bears are finally positioned to maximize their drafts.

Part of the problem in recent years has been their inability to develop young players properly. A regular succession of underqualified head coaches played a big part in that. Only since Johnson arrived have things begun to turn. Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai were instant hits as rookies. Ozzy Trapilo looked like a starter as well before his knee injury. That is already looking like the best draft class the Bears have produced in the past decade. If they can keep up the momentum with another strong one this April, they’ll be well-positioned for a run.

The obvious challenge is draft position. Unlike previous years, the Chicago Bears will be picking in the later part of every round. That means Poles, his scouts, and the coaches must do some of their best evaluating to find good players. The last time they picked in the final third of the 1st round, they ended up with Gabe Carimi. While not the sole reason for the Bears’ eventual decline in the mid-2010s, that accelerated it. If this team wants to clear the final hurdle, they must secure two or three good players in this upcoming class.

The Chicago Bears face a dilemma heading into the 2026 offseason. They have no left tackle. Ozzy Trapilo tore his patella in the wild card win over Green Bay, leaving his status for next season in doubt. Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet are free agents. The team has no clear starter for opening day. That leaves a difficult question for GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson. Do they seek a temporary stand-in at the position who can hold things together until Trapilo gets back, or do they go hunting for a long-term solution?

It is a complicated discussion. Chicago doesn’t have a ton of spending money and holds the 25th pick in the draft. That isn’t a hot spot for finding left tackles in the draft. Still, Trapilo’s injury leaves his career in limbo. It’s never known how a player will recover from a patella tear. Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien seems to think Trapilo is worth waiting for. He told Taylor Doll on 2nd City Gridiron that the young tackle has every tool needed to be a great starter in the NFL.

To say nothing of how well he fits Johnson’s offense.

Ozzy Trapilo was playing great before the injury.

Despite his inexperience, he was maturing rapidly in his role at left tackle. The pass protection was steady, and he was even making headway in the run game, which hadn’t been his strength. Offensive line coach Dan Roushar felt the one thing separating him from reaching his potential was improved lower-body strength. This coming offseason would’ve been spent improving that. Such plans must be put on hold until Trapilo’s rehab process is complete, which will likely take until weeks into the regular season.

The truth is, Chicago isn’t in a great spot to go chasing a left tackle. They don’t have the money or draft position. A far more sensible approach is to find a reliable veteran who can start 6-8 games while Ozzy Trapilo gets back to full strength. Then he can pick up where he left off this season. O’Brien is correct. The rookie is talented enough to deserve a grace period. We already saw signs of what he could be in December and January. No reason to abandon ship this early.