Chicago Bears: biggest burning question for 2026 training camp revealed

The Chicago Bears are entering 2026 training camp with some high expectations for the upcoming season. After going 11-6 in 2025 under new head coach Ben Johnson, they are hoping to take an even bigger step forward. While Johnson’s offense led by Caleb Williams gets a great deal of recognition, the historic identity of the Bears organization has been linked to their defense.

Last season, Chicago led the NFL in turnovers forced thanks to how many interceptions they were able to generate. Unfortunately, most of their key players from the 2025 secondary are playing elsewhere this year. While the Bears have addressed the position(s) this off-season, it is fair to question whether it will be enough.

The Chicago Bears secondary is full of question marks entering training camp

CBS Sports recently released an article in which they identified the biggest burning question for every team in the NFL as training camp begins. It should be no surprise that when it came to the Bears, they pointed to the new secondary room:

“The Bears lost the two players who accounted for 15 of Chicago’s NFL-most 33 takeaways (45.4%). Safety Jaquan Brisker and nickel C.J. Gardner-Johnson also departed in free agency.

“The Bears offset the loss of Byard by swiping Coby Bryant away from the Seahawks on a three-year, $40 million deal. Chicago will rely on two players in outside cornerback Jaylon Johnson (missed 10 games with a groin injury) and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (missed 14 games with groin, hamstring and calf injuries). Plus, the new starting strong safety will be the 25th overall pick, rookie Dillon Thieneman.

“How well the secondary comes together will go a long way in determining how the Bears’ 2026 season unfolds.”

As noted above, the Bears are hoping that Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman will be as good in terms of generating turnovers as their safety room was last year. They also will benefit from having Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon back, though Gordon is starting training camp on the PUP list.

At the end of the day, though, Chicago also did next to nothing when it came to improving their pass rush, which would have had a positive effect on their new secondary as well.

Realistically, the Bears defense as a whole should be questioned entering training camp. They have a great deal of potential, but they need to get more out of their returning players than they received from them last year in order for them to be improved.

More Chicago Bears news from ChiCity Sports

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• Caleb Williams turns heads with physical appearance at Bears training camp

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