The Chicago Bears open training camp July 27 at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears finished the 2020 season 8-8, good for second place in the NFC North and a wild-card playoff berth. Chicago has reached the postseason two of the last three years under head coach Matt Nagy. Here is the 53-man roster projection.
QUARTERBACK (3): Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, Nick Foles
Dalton is the Week 1 starter and Fields is the future. General manager Ryan Pace could trade Foles to a quarterback-needy team in the preseason, but -- at least publicly -- the Bears sound like they expect to have Foles on the roster in 2021.
RUNNING BACK (4): David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, Damien Williams, Khalil Herbert
The top three on the depth chart are locks to make the team. Herbert, whom the Bears drafted in the sixth round, earns a roster spot because of special teams. The Bears are also likely to try to keep Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce around on the practice squad.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Allen Robinson II, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, Javon Wims, Damiere Byrd, Dazz Newsome
Wide receiver is a tough one. I debated between keeping five or six at this position. Anthony Miller and Riley Ridley were left off the list for different reasons. Miller is supremely talented, but the Bears spent the offseason shopping him around to no avail. Ridley is a former fourth-round pick, but he's spent much of his career as a gameday inactive. Newsome's offseason shoulder injury is also worth monitoring.
TIGHT END (3): Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet, J.P. Holtz
I had to trim the tight ends to three after I took six receivers. Jesper Horsted is likely to be around in some capacity.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, Sam Mustipher, Teven Jenkins, Germain Ifedi, Larry Borom, Elijah Wilkinson, Alex Bars, Arlington Hambright
The Bears addressed the offensive line by bringing in youth (Jenkins, Borom) and experience (Wilkinson). Hambright and Lachavious Simmons figure to fight for the last spot.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Bilal Nichols, Mario Edwards Jr., Angelo Blackson, Khyiris Tonga
Goldman skipped mandatory minicamp after sitting out last year due to COVID-19-related concerns. His absence allowed the Bears to get better looks at Blackson and Tonga in the offseason program.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (5): Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Jeremiah Attaochu, James Vaughters, Trevis Gipson
Newcomer Attaochu should be in the gameday rotation. The Bears need Quinn to have a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2020 campaign.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (4): Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, Christian Jones, Joel Iyiegbuniwe
The signing of Jones, who previously played for the Bears, affords the Bears better depth at the position. It's only a matter of time before Smith receives a lucrative contract extension.
CORNERBACK (5): Jaylon Johnson, Desmond Trufant, Kindle Vildor, Artie Burns, Duke Shelley
Another difficult position to project. The Bears will want rookie sixth-round pick Thomas Graham to stick around in some fashion. But without Kyle Fuller, the Bears could use more experience at cornerback, which is why Burns gets the nod.
SAFETY (5): Eddie Jackson, Tashaun Gipson Sr., Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Marqui Christian.
Look for Christian and veteran Jordan Lucas to battle for the last spot, if the Bears keep five at the position. Bush and Houston-Carson are veteran backups/special teamers who the Bears are very familiar with.
SPECIALISTS (3): Cairo Santos, Pat O'Donnell, Patrick Scales
The Bears do not have a kicker controversy this year. The job belongs to Santos. O'Donnell and Scales are mainstays on special teams.