Hudson spent the first three years of his collegiate career at USC before transferring to Penn State in 2025. The wide receiver started six games in 2025 and played in all 13, amassing 23 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound receiver may have played his way onto the roster in rookie minicamp, but he will have to prove his NFL talent even more as the offseason program goes on to reach training camp.

Miller spent the last two seasons with the Steelers after spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Buccaneers, with a one-season stint with Atlanta sandwiched in between. He didn't see much work in the Steelers' offense, and he finished the 2025 regular season with only nine catches (on 14 targets) for 62 yards across 13 games. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are the clear top wideouts for the Bears, so Miller will be competing for offensive snaps against Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas and Jahdae Walker.

Plascencia made 87.8 percent of his field-goal attempts (36-for-41) in his last three seasons at San Diego State. The kicker was 19-for-23 in 2025 and was likely brought in to keep long-time Bears kicker Cairo Santos on his game ahead of the season. Santos' track record of consistency means his job is likely not in danger, and there is a good chance Plascencia will either move on from the Bears or shift to the practice squad by the start of the regular season.

Moss ended his collegiate career at Louisville, but he was the No. 2 quarterback at USC for the 2022 season. Caleb Williams will now be reunited with his former backup as he heads into his third season in the NFL. Moss completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,679 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 12 games for Louisville in 2025. With Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum already on the Bears' quarterback depth chart, Moss' potential likely caps out as a scout-team contributor who synergizes well with Williams as he continues to cement himself as a starter in the league.

Large played three years at Dordt before transferring to Iowa for his remaining three collegiate seasons. The tight end logged eight starts among his 12 appearances in 2025, gathering eight receptions for 52 receiving yards. The 24-year-old has minimal upside as a pass catcher, but he brings a reputation as a superior run blocker. If his physicality holds up against NFL defenders, Large could carve out a depth role on a Bears team that prioritized a physical run game in 2025.

Kelly ended his collegiate career at Michigan State, totaling 47 receptions for 626 yards and two touchdowns through 12 games with the Spartans in 2025. The wide receiver also earned second-team All-Conference USA honors at Middle Tennessee State in 2024 as a punt returner. If his game can translate to the NFL level, his special-teams experience could make him a valuable depth piece for the Bears.

The Bears sent the Bills two seventh-round picks to move up and take van den Berg. A six-year collegiate athlete, van den Berg spent his final two seasons at Georgia Tech, starting 20 of 26 games and producing 67 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He was a late bloomer but managed to earn All-ACC honors in his final season before running a 4.94 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds at his pro day. There's room for him to grow with that level of athleticism, and the 2025 tape showed a player with the requisite skills to potentially earn a role in the NFL.

Elliott (6-foot-2, 231 pounds) transferred from New Mexico State to Arizona State in 2024, totaling three-and-a-half years as a starter between both teams and 301 tackles in that span. The 22-year-old's aggressiveness, physicality and ability to stop the run are well-established traits, but the same is arguably true for Elliott's limitations against coverage and his average athleticism. As a rookie in Chicago, Elliott figures to have every chance to prove he's capable of taking a step forward in his development while competing for depth snaps with Noah Sewell (Achilles), Jack Sanborn and 2025 fourth-round pick Ruben Hyppolite.

Muhammad (6-feet, 182 pounds) is perhaps on the smaller side for a boundary corner, but the former Texas standout has good reach (32 and 3/8-inch arms) for press purposes and his 4.42-second 40 demonstrates enough recovery speed to buy the idea of Muhammad starting down the road. He might be able to put some heat on Tyrique Stevenson for the second boundary corner role behind Jaylon Johnson as soon as this year.

Though he primarily operated on the boundary as a starter at LSU, Thomas showed his versatility in motions and backfield action, and he also has the experience on special teams as a returner on kickoffs and punts that should help him contribute immediately to the Bears. Thomas' speed and acceleration means he is a threat to make a game-altering play any time he touches the ball, which makes him an intriguing playmaker in the offensive scheme of head coach Ben Johnson. There's a real chance that Thomas beats out Jahdae Walker and Kalif Raymond to earn the Bears' WR3 job behind Rome Odunze and Luther Burden.

Roush (6-foot-6, 267 pounds) is a massive tight end and moves well for his build (4.7-second 40-yard dash, 38.5-inch vertical, 126-inch broad jump), but his short arms (30 and 5/8 inches) were a hindrance and a plausible explanation for his poor pass-catching production at Stanford. Athletic as he is, Roush projects more as a blocker than a receiver at the NFL level, and that's even before you account for the fact that Colston Loveland is obviously the featured pass-catching tight end for Chicago's indefinite future.

Jones is light (6-foot-3, 299 pounds) and even more so has short arms (30 and 3/4 inches), but in literally every other regard the Iowa product is a blue-chip center. Despite his technically smallish build, there's very little concern about Jones translating at the next level. That's in large part due to his rare athleticism — it's a lot easier to deal with short arms when you run a 4.9-second 40 with strong jumps and agility testing. Jones should be at least an average starting NFL center soon or immediately.

Thieneman would have been a justifiable selection somewhere in the top 20, so the Bears jumped at the chance to add the speedy safety with the 25th pick. Thieneman (6-feet, 201 pounds) was outrageously productive as a true freshman and sophomore starter at Purdue (2023-2024), accumulating triple-digit tackles in both seasons and intercepting six passes in the first season. Thieneman almost made it three seasons in a row with triple-digit tackles, but he finished with 'only' 96 tackles in his one season with Oregon (2025). With a 4.35-second 40 and 41-inch vertical, Thieneman showed he's a top-tier athlete in addition to a skilled safety.

Loveland's role expanded significantly down the stretch in his rookie season, as the 2025 first-round pick caught 28 of 48 targets for 378 yards and two touchdowns over Chicago's last four games, two of which came in the playoffs. He suffered a concussion late in the Bears' NFC divisional-round loss to the Rams, but Loveland's comments indicate he has recovered from that injury and is ready to build on his momentum from last season in a Bears offense that traded away wide receiver DJ Moore earlier this offseason. Moore finished second on the team in receiving yards behind Loveland during the 2025 regular season.

Edwards suffered the injury in Chicago's wild-card win over the Packers back in January. "I will push as hard as I can to move it as quickly as possible, but I also want to be smart about it, too," Edwards said. "I'll be ready when it's time to go." After starting all 17 regular-season games in each of the previous three seasons, Edwards dealt with injuries in 2025 and made just 10 regular-season starts before his postseason injury.

Wright will remain on the roster an additional year before further negotiations are required, now set to make almost $6.7 million in 2026 and $19 million in 2027 on the offensive tackle's fifth-year option. The right tackle is coming off a 2025 second-team All-Pro season, and the opportunity to retain the standout 24-year-old's services should help the Bears maintain strong run blocking and pass protection into 2026.

Sanborn is returning to Chicago, where he spent the first three years of his career before signing with the Cowboys for the 2025 campaign. The 25-year-old has seemingly recovered from the groin injury that landed him on Dallas' injured reserve last November and will likely serve in a depth role with the Bears during the upcoming campaign.

Lynch played with the Vikings from 2020-23 and with the Titans from 2024-25, and he will now provide interior defensive line depth in Chicago. While suiting up for all 17 regular-season games with Tennessee in 2025, Lynch totaled 25 tackles (14 solo), including a half-sack, plus one pass defensed.

The 2022 seventh-round pick from California is now slated to remain in Chicago after spending the first four seasons of his NFL career with the team. Hicks appeared in 17 regular-season games in 2025, recording 19 total tackles across 371 total snaps (309 on special teams, 62 on defense). He's expected to remain one of the Bears' top special-teamers during the 2026 campaign.

Following back-to-back injury-ruined seasons in 2023 and 2024, Wills sat out the 2025 campaign to let his knees heal. He's still just 26 years old and was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 Draft by the Browns. Wills gives the Bears a risk-free flyer at left tackle after Ozzy Trapilo suffered a torn patellar tendon in the wild-card win over the Packers in January.

Moore might've only been the No. 3 receiver anyway if he'd returned to Chicago after plummeting to a 16.0 percent target rate in 2025 while easily leading the team in routes run (512). The Bears also lost WR Oladime Zaccheaus (305 routes), who is signing with Atlanta. There's plenty of time to add competition behind Odunze and Burden, but it does seem clear that those two and TE Colston Loveland will lead the team in targets in 2026 if they stay relatively healthy. Odunze said in January that he didn't anticipate needing surgery for the foot injury that cost him five games at the end of the regular season (he returned for two postseason games, posting 2-44-0 receiving lines in both). He failed to maintain a hot start in 2025, his second pro season, but there were still some promising signs overall, including a 24.4 percent target rate and six TDs in 12 regular-season games. Odunze, Burden and Loveland are all popular fantasy breakout candidates for 2026.

Burden would've been a popular 2026 breakout candidate even if the Bears had kept Moore, who was targeted on just 16.0 percent of his routes last season. Burden had a team-high 26.1 percent target rate while ranking fourth among all qualified pass catchers with 2.83 yards per route, but with a mere 41 percent route share across 15 regular-season games. His playing time and production improved as the season progressed, with Burden catching at least three passes in each of his final 10 appearances (including two playoff games). With Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus (Falcons) no longer playing for Chicago, the passing attack figures to flow through Burden, WR Rome Odunze and TE Colston Loveland.

Street spent the past three seasons with the Falcons and is now set to head to Chicago. The 29-year-old has amassed 10.5 sacks across his eight-year career and will likely serve as a depth defender with the Bears.

Raymond spent the past five years in Detroit returning punts and kickoffs while typically serving as the third or fourth receiver. He'll turn 32 before Week 1 in 2026 but should be able to handle a similar role for the Bears. The move to Chicago reunites Raymond with head coach Ben Johnson, formerly the offensive coordinator for the Lions.

Jones lost his starting job at left tackle to 2025 second-rounder Ozzy Trapilo last season, but Trapilo suffered a serious knee injury in Chicago's wild-card win over the Packers and could miss the beginning of the 2026 campaign. Jones gives the Bears an experienced option, though he could face competition for the spot.