The Chicago Bears have had five years to make something happen on the new stadium front. Instead, they seem to have played the greatest hits for how not to conduct negotiations or handle the process in general. Team president Kevin Warren has bungled everything, from his constant flip-flopping on a direction to go, to his stubborn unwillingness to listen to people he literally pays to advise him. That’s how the organization finds itself stuck in a no-man’s land between Illinois and Indiana.

One side is eager to lure them across the border, but doesn’t have the ideal property to offer. The other is run by a state government deeply fractured, with so many conflicting forces at play. Despite offering a pretty state-friendly deal where the Bears would pay for the entire stadium project themselves, it still hasn’t been enough. The only thing that would make it dumber would be if one of their key allies in the government got caught up in some sort of scandal.

Well…

The Chicago Bears sure can pick their friends.

“Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has been identified as a key player in the legislature as the Bears try to hammer out a deal that works for them. It’s probably fair to say he has been viewed as an ally of the Bears. Back in January, Welch posted photos on social media of himself with Warren and McCaskey at Soldier Field during the divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bears might want their Arlington Heights project to be a front-burner item for Welch this summer, but he has been caught up in a political storm with a lot of questions regarding how he handled allegations of sexual harassment against former state Rep. Harry Benton. Welch was previously a considerable backer of Benton, a Democrat from Plainfield, so one could imagine he has been preoccupied in efforts to untangle himself from this mess.”

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune provided the update on this. Welch was the man who assured everybody after the legislative push in the spring failed that things would get worked out. So, of course, he finds himself in the crossfire for mishandling something as straightforward as sexual harassment allegations. This is the best guy the Bears could find to help them? No wonder they hired new lobbyists. It has become pretty clear their so-called allies in the House and Senate have done nothing for them.

Nobody truly knows what the hell the Bears are doing.

Getting a straight answer out of them is equivalent to nailing Jell-O to a wall. Warren has stated the same line for months now. They’re “focused” on Hammond, Indiana, and have had minimal contact with Illinois regarding legislation. At the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Governor J.B. Pritzker, immediately undermining everything the man said. The longer this goes on, the more the same thought keeps popping up.

If Indiana’s offer were as good as some have been saying, the Chicago Bears would’ve taken it long ago. With each useless press conference and media update, it looks more and more like a leverage play. They don’t really want to go to Indiana. They want to build in Arlington Heights as originally planned. It just can’t get done without property tax and infrastructure support. So Indiana is being used as a threat to get as many concessions from Springfield as possible.

The problem is that leverage plays don’t work very well if you have little understanding of how to navigate complex political waters. The McCaskey family has zero experience in that department, which is why they hired Warren. Unfortunately, it’s looking like he was less shrewd negotiator and more carnival barker. It feels like this business could last a long time. The November legislative session is the next opportunity in Illinois. That doesn’t feel like one to get your hopes up over. Thus, the wait continues.

The Chicago Bears saw tantalizing glimpses of what Caleb Williams could do last season. It was pure magic. They’ve had quarterbacks with incredible arm talent, quarterbacks with incredible mobility, and even quarterbacks who played great in crunch time. Never have they had one who possessed all three. Williams put them all on display while leading the Bears to their first division title in seven years and first playoff win in 15 years. He set single-season records with 3,941 passing yards and 30 total touchdowns. Add seven 4th quarter comebacks, and you start to understand why expectations for him are soaring.

However, it always came with a chorus of voices outside the bubble. People insisted Williams has not arrived yet. Why? He still hasn’t figured out how to play small ball. His 58.1 completion percentage was the worst among NFL starters last season. Part of that was because he couldn’t consistently hit the higher-percentage throws and too often refused checkdowns, hunting for the big play. From the way head coach Ben Johnson spoke to Albert Breer of the MMQB, it sounds like that might not be a problem anymore.

Caleb Williams is trusting his eyes more than ever.

There’s proof, too, in how Williams is following their lead this summer. Every few days, Johnson asks him for his favorite play of the day. Inevitably, it’s something small, “and it’ll be one where we call four verts (vertical routes), and they give us two-high, or it’s quarters and none of the outside stuff is there, it’s not good, so he checks it down to the back immediately.”

It’s something few people, in other words, would notice. But it goes back to a point of emphasis for the summer from the coaches—“I’m not changing too much other than just to take the easy ones,” he says—and shows there’s now a synergy between the staff and its quarterback. That was the point of making things so hard in the beginning.

Caleb Williams is an Olympic sprinter learning to play chess.

That is the best way to describe what the Bears are trying to accomplish. They already know their quarterback is a world-class athlete. He can do anything you ask of him on the football field. He has the arm to make any throw and the legs to evade almost any defender. The problem is? That alone isn’t enough to conquer the NFL. When you look at the best of the best quarterbacks throughout league history, all of them have the same thing in common. They’re neurosurgeons between the ears. They can process information at high speeds, always knowing where guys are supposed to line up, what the protections are, and what looks the defenses show.

There is a reason only a handful of guys can play the position at a high level. The amount of work needed to reach that tier is borderline masochistic. You really need to love football or be incredibly competitive. Based on what everyone around Caleb Williams has said for two years, he is both. When you put somebody like that into a proven offensive system with a good supporting cast, success almost always will follow. Last season was the proof of conception. Now the Bears are preparing to take the training wheels off.

An efficient Williams wins a lot.

There is a reason Johnson wants his quarterback completing more passes. More completions equal fewer wasted yards. More completions mean shorter down-and-distance situations. Above all, more completions mean greater efficiency and higher passer ratings. Keep this in mind. Williams has produced a 100+ passer rating 11 times in his young career. He is 7-4 in those games, and three of the losses saw his defense allow 34 points or more. The other would’ve been a win if not for a blocked field goal.

Put simply, the Bears are a much harder team to beat when Williams performs like a polished professional. That is why the team is trying to get him there. Once he’s consistently in that zone, the organization can finally start thinking about winning a Super Bowl.

Kyler Gordon was viewed as a core piece of the Chicago Bears‘ retooling defense when they drafted him in 2022. His mix of quickness, speed, and tackling prowess made for a perfect nickel cornerback. For three seasons, he played like that guy. When he was on the field, he had a case as one of the two or three best at his position in the league. That is why the Bears felt comfortable handing him a contract extension last offseason. He’d earned it, and there were no glaring signs that it was a bad investment.

It is amazing how fast things go downhill. In barely a calendar year, Gordon has seen all of that goodwill flushed down the drain. He missed 14 games last season. It’d be one thing if it were because of a broken bone or torn ligaments. What made it so frustrating was that it was soft-tissue injuries. These are not supposed to be a persistent issue for players. Not those who are well-conditioned, anyway. Even worse, he hasn’t practiced at all this year. Training camp is half over, and there is no indication that he is nearing a return. From what Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune just reported, sympathy dried up at Halas Hall a long time ago.

At this point, it’s fair to question if Gordon’s commitment to getting back on the field has been at an appropriate level. That’s not exclusive to the last three weeks. It’s confounding that he was sidelined through the offseason program after missing 14 regular-season games last year (as well as the 2025 preseason), and yet he remains on PUP.

Everyone in the building is tiptoeing around the subject. You have a better chance of getting straight answers about the stadium situation than about Gordon’s status these days, and you probably heard how that went Thursday.

Kyler Gordon may no longer have a job waiting for him.

Truth be told, he should count himself lucky. There is a very real possibility that head coach Ben Johnson would’ve cut him already had he not signed that extension last summer. As things stand, the Bears are stuck with him for this season. That doesn’t mean they have to play him, though. Gordon did little last season, even when he was on the field. While he’s been meandering in the training room for months, other players have put in the work to grab that nickel cornerback job.

You can start with veteran Cam Lewis, who played that spot in Buffalo. If he is forced to play safety instead, the Bears still have 4th round pick Malik Muhammad and recent free agent addition Beanie Bishop. Both had encouraging performances in the preseason opener. Both have much better track records of health. The Bears may prefer to give them the opportunities rather than keep the seat warm for Kyler Gordon. Big contract or not, he isn’t helping the team. There comes a time when you must let availability dictate your decisions.

This situation is sad, more than anything.

Gordon has all the ability in the world. He should be a Pro Bowler. Instead, it’s hard not to feel like he decided he was satisfied after getting his big payday. There are many cases of this happening in NFL history. Some players remain so focused and motivated early in their careers. Yet once they get that massive new contract, that drive seems to leave them. They’re set for life financially. Why keep working hard? You saw it happen with Albert Haynesworth several years ago in Washington. You don’t want to put Gordon in that category, but he’s not making it easy.

Johnson already sounds done with him. General manager Ryan Poles doesn’t sound far behind. When you lose the faith of the two biggest decision-makers in the organization, you’re pretty much screwed. Gordon will probably return at some point. He almost has to if he wants to keep getting those checks. Unfortunately, he may find nothing waiting for him but the bench.

Vita Vea is now the hot name on the NFL trade circuit. The Pro Bowl nose tackle asked to be dealt by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as the organization has dragged its feet getting a contract extension done. This after Vea once again helped their defense thrive stopping the run. He is the unquestioned best interior run defender in football. Unsurprisingly, he feels he should be rewarded for those efforts. Tampa Bay, for their part, has made it pretty clear they have no intentions of trading Vea. However, we’ve heard that sort of messaging before.

This is probably why the Chicago Bears and other teams have contacted them to gauge the defensive tackle’s value. It isn’t surprising they would be interested. The Bears were 27th against the run last season. It was a constant issue. Injuries along the defensive line didn’t help, but none of their defensive tackles were particularly good at stopping it. Vea would change that. However, a couple of NFL executives told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that this might not be a wise idea.

“Good player but might be getting near the end,” one assistant general manager texted. “How near the end is what you have to figure out if you’re going for him, and how much are you willing to pay for that?”

“Very good but age is not on his side,” a pro scouting director texted. “Soon to be 32. You’d have to feel good about a couple seasons.”

All discussion of Vea and the impact he could make could be a moot point because the Buccaneers, at least publicly, don’t seem inclined to make his wish come true and trade him. One source said they’ve made that clear to teams that have called.

Price is the sticking point with any Vita Vea trade.

What they say is true. If you look at the history of nose tackles in the NFL, especially ones his size, they don’t last very long in their 30s. Most burn out by around 33 or 34 years old. Vince Wilfork and Casey Hampton, the gold standard of that position in the past 20 years, both made it to 35. That is the best-case scenario for Vea. This means he has three years left. This means the Bears would have to trade a decent draft pick for him and then offer an extension that would be a raise over the $17.75 million he’s currently making.

This presents a problem for the Bears. They only have six picks in the 2027 NFL draft. Not only that, but they’re sitting at under $5 million in salary cap space. They would have to drop down to five picks and also restructure several contracts just to fit Vita Vea on their books. That means general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson must ask themselves an important question.

Is this the kind of move that would put the Bears into the Super Bowl conversation?

It is tough to answer that.

Historically, nose tackles haven’t moved the needle on championship teams all that much. It is all about pass rushers and cover corners. Make life as difficult for the quarterback as possible. Still, if you look at recent history, you’ll often notice that championship teams often correlate with good run defense. Seven of the last 10 Super Bowl winners ranked in the top 10.

The Bears were 5-0 last season when they allowed less than 100 yards on the ground. When put in that context, it becomes easier to see Vea’s appeal. Dennis Allen is one of the most dangerous defensive coordinators in the NFL when you give him 3rd and long situations. Getting into them is the hard part. Stopping the run is key. If the Bears think Vea has at least two more good seasons in him, then perhaps a trade is worth the risk.