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2026 Chicago Bears season

107th season in franchise history From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 season is the Chicago Bears' 107th in the National Football League (NFL), their fifth under the leadership of general manager Ryan Poles and their second under head coach Ben Johnson. The Bears will seek to improve upon their 11–6 record from the previous season and repeat as NFC North champions for the first time since 2005–2006.

OwnerGeorge McCaskey
General managerRyan Poles
Head coachBen Johnson
Home stadiumSoldier Field
Quick facts Chicago Bears season, Owner ...
2026 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge McCaskey
General managerRyan Poles
Head coachBen Johnson
Home stadiumSoldier Field
Results
Record3–1
Division place2nd NFC North
Uniform
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Offseason

Roster changes

Free agents

More information Position, Player ...
Position Player Tag 2026 team Date signed Contract Source
C Ryan Bates UFA
SS Jaquan Brisker UFA Pittsburgh Steelers March 12, 2026 1 year, $5.5 million [1]
FS Kevin Byard UFA New England Patriots March 11, 2026 1 year, $9 million [2]
DT Andrew Billings UFA Arizona Cardinals March 16, 2026 1 year, $2.4 million [3]
LS Scott Daly UFA
WR Devin Duvernay UFA Arizona Cardinals March 15, 2026 1 year, $2.5 million [4]
FS C. J. Gardner-Johnson UFA Buffalo Bills March 12, 2026 1 year, $6 million [5]
SS Elijah Hicks UFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 [6]
RB Travis Homer UFA
MLB D'Marco Jackson UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $7.5 million [7]
LT Braxton Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $10 million [8]
CB Jaylon Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 13, 2026 [9]
QB Case Keenum UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $5.5 million [10]
CB Nick McCloud UFA
SS Jonathan Owens UFA
MLB Jalen Reeves-Maybin UFA
DE Dominique Robinson UFA
TE Durham Smythe UFA
DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka UFA
DT Chris Williams UFA
CB Nahshon Wright UFA New York Jets March 11, 2026 1 year, $5.5 million [11]
WR Olamide Zaccheaus UFA Atlanta Falcons March 11, 2026 1 year, TBD [12]
DE Daniel Hardy RFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $4.97 million [7]
G Jordan McFadden RFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 1 year, $1.3 million [13]
LT Theo Benedet ERFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $1 million [14]
RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive-rights free agent

Legend

 –  Light green background indicates a player has been re-signed by the Bears.
 –  Light red background indicates a player has departed the Bears.
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Signings

More information Position, Player ...
Position Player Previous team Date signed Contract Source
S Coby Bryant Seattle Seahawks March 11, 2026 3 year, $40 million [15]
LB Devin Bush Cleveland Browns March 11, 2026 3 year, $30 million [15]
DT Neville Gallimore Indianapolis Colts March 11, 2026 2 year, $12 million [15]
WR Kalif Raymond Detroit Lions March 11, 2026 1 year, $5.1 million [15]
OT Jedrick Wills Cleveland Browns March 12, 2026 1 year, $1.2 million [15]
CB Cam Lewis Buffalo Bills March 13, 2026 2 year, $6 million [15]
DT Kentavius Street Atlanta Falcons March 13, 2026 [15]
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Trades

More information Position, Arrived ...
Position Arrived From Date of trade Departed
WR2026 2nd-round pickBuffalo BillsMarch 11, 2026[16]D. J. Moore
2026 5th-round pick
C Garrett Bradbury New England Patriots March 11, 2026[17] 2027 5th-round pick
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Reserve/future contracts

The Bears signed the following players to reserve/future contracts: Maurice Alexander (WR), Brittain Brown (RB), Stephen Carlson (TE), Luke Elkin (LS), Dallis Flowers (CB), Jonathan Garvin (DE), Dominique Hampton (OLB), Kyle Hergel (G), Qadir Ismail (TE), Nikola Kalinic (TE), Jamree Kromah (DE), Dontae Manning (CB), Jeremiah Martin (DE), Gervarrius Owens (S), JP Richardson (WR), and Nephi Sewell (OLB).

Releases

Draft

Main article: 2026 NFL draft
More information Round, Selection ...
2026 Chicago Bears draft selections
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
125 Dillon ThienemanSOregon
257 Logan JonesCIowa
60 Traded to the Tennessee TitansFrom Bills[A]
3 69 Sam Roush TE Stanford From Titans
389 Zavion ThomasWRLSU
4125 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs
124 Malik Muhammad CB Texas From Jaguars via Panthers
129 Traded to the Carolina PanthersFrom Rams
5 144 Traded to the Carolina PanthersFrom Titans via Rams and Titans
165 Traded to the Buffalo Bills
166 Keyshaun Elliott LB Arizona St.
6206 Traded to the Cleveland Browns[B]
213 Jordan van den BergDTGeorgia TechFrom Seahawks via Jaguars, Lions and Bills
7239 Traded to the Buffalo BillsFrom Eagles via Jaguars and Browns
241 Traded to the Buffalo Bills
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Notes

  1. [A]
    The Bears traded a fifth-round selection (165th overall) and WR D. J. Moore to Buffalo in exchange for a second-round selection (60th overall).[18]
  2. [B]
    The Bears traded a sixth-round selection (209th overall) to Cleveland in exchange for a seventh-round pick (239th overall) and DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.[19]
More information Name, Position ...
2026 Chicago Bears undrafted free agents
Name Position College Ref.
Caden Barnett OL Wyoming [20]
Coleman Bennett RB Kennesaw State
KC Eziomume DB Tulane
Beau Gardner LS Georgia
Kyron Hudson WR Penn State
Omari Kelly WR Michigan State
Jaren Kump OL Utah
Hayden Large TE Iowa
Jayden Loving DL Wake Forest
Wayne Matthews OLB Michigan State
Miller Moss QB Louisville
Mason Murphy OL Auburn
Gabriel Plascencia PK San Diego State
Skyler Thomas DB Oregon State
Squirrel White WR Florida State
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Staff

Chicago Bears staff
Front office
  • Chairman – George McCaskey
  • President/CEO – Kevin Warren
  • General manager – Ryan Poles
  • Assistant general manager – Jeff King
  • Vice president of football administration – Matt Feinstein
  • Senior director of player personnel – Trey Koziol
  • Director of player personnel – Breck Ackley
  • Assistant director of college scouting – Francis St. Paul
  • Director of pro scouting – DJ Hord
  • Football administration and analytics manager – Andrea Wright
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Dennis Allen
  • Defensive line – Jeremy Garrett
  • Linebackers – Richard Smith
  • Assistant linebackers – Kevin Koch
  • Defensive backs/passing game coordinator – Al Harris
  • Assistant defensive backs/safeties – Matt Giordano
  • Senior defensive assistant – Bill Johnson
  • Defensive assistant/nickels – Cannon Matthews
  • Defensive quality control – Zach Cable
  • Defensive quality control – Kenny Norton III
Special teams coaches
Coaching administration
  • Senior director of coaching operations – Justin Rudd
  • Manager of coaching administration – Chavis Cook
  • Director of research and analysis – Harrison Freid
Strength and conditioning
  • Head strength and conditioning – Pierre Ngo
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Allison Haley
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Noble Landry
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Reshard Langford
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Mark Philippi

→ Coaching staff
→ Front office
→ More NFL staffs

Current roster

Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

 Practice squad

Reserve

Preseason

More information Week, Date ...
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 15 Cleveland Browns W 34–10 1–0 Soldier Field Recap
2 August 22 at Cincinnati Bengals L 9–27 1–1 Paycor Stadium Recap
3 August 29 at Tennessee Titans W 24–15 2–1 Nissan Stadium Recap
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Regular season

Schedule

More information Week, Date ...
Week Date Time (CT) Opponent Result Record Venue Network Recap
1 September 13 12:00 p.m. at Carolina Panthers W 59–37 1–0 Bank of America Stadium Fox Recap
2 September 20 12:00 p.m. Minnesota Vikings L 3–9 1–1 Soldier Field Fox Recap
3 September 28 7:15 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles W 27–7 2–1 Soldier Field ESPN/ABC Recap
4 October 4 12:00 p.m. New York Jets W 23–12 3–1 Soldier Field Fox Recap
5 October 11 12:00 p.m. at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field Fox
6 October 18 12:00 p.m. at Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz Stadium Fox
7 October 22 7:15 p.m. New England Patriots Soldier Field Prime Video
8 November 2 7:15 p.m. at Seattle Seahawks Lumen Field ESPN
9 November 8 7:20 p.m. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Soldier Field NBC
10 Bye
11 November 22 12:00 p.m. New Orleans Saints Soldier Field Fox
12 November 26 12:00 p.m. at Detroit Lions Ford Field CBS
13 December 6 12:00 p.m. Jacksonville Jaguars Soldier Field Fox
14 December 13 12:00 p.m. at Miami Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium CBS
15 December 19 7:20 p.m. at Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium CBS
16 December 25 12:00 p.m. Green Bay Packers Soldier Field Netflix
17 January 3 3:25 p.m. Detroit Lions Soldier Field Fox
18 January 9/10 TBD at Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium TBD
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Notes

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
  • Networks and times from Weeks 6–17 and dates from Weeks 12–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling; games in Weeks 7, 8, 12, 15 and 16 are exempt.[21]
  • The date, time and network for Week 18 will be finalized at the end of Week 17.[21]

Game summaries

Week 1: at Carolina Panthers

Week 1: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 14 17 141459
Panthers 7 17 7637
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at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

More information Game information ...
Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • CHI – Cole Kmet 22-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Cairo Santos kick), 13:57. Bears 21–7. Drive: 2 plays, 41 yards, 0:51.
  • CAR – Jalen Coker 51-yard pass from Bryce Young (Ryan Fitzgerald kick), 12:40. Bears 21–14. Drive: 3 plays, 73 yards, 1:17.
  • CAR – Bryce Young 7-yard run (Ryan Fitzgerald kick), 8:42. Tied 21–21. Drive: 3 plays, 21 yards, 1:45.
  • CHI – Cairo Santos 40-yard field goal, 5:20. Bears 24–21. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:36.
  • CAR – Ryan Fitzgerald 44-yard field goal, 2:35. Tied 24–24. Drive: 7 plays, 48 yards, 2:45.
  • CHI – Caleb Williams 29-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 0:22. Bears 31–24. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:13.

Third quarter

  • CAR – Chuba Hubbard 2-yard run (Ryan Fitzgerald kick), 9:02. Tied 31–31. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, 2:26.
  • CHI – D'Andre Swift 1-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 3:05. Bears 38–31. Drive: 13 plays, 65 yards, 5:57.
  • CHI – Kyle Monangai 61-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 0:40. Bears 45–31. Drive: 1 play, 61 yards, 0:10.

Fourth quarter

  • CHI – Jahdae Walker 1-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Cairo Santos kick), 6:27. Bears 52–31. Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 8:23.
  • CAR – Jalen Coker 8-yard pass from Bryce Young (kick blocked), 4:00. Bears 52–37. Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 2:27.
  • CHI – D'Andre Swift 28-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 3:40. Bears 59–37. Drive: 4 plays, 49 yards, 0:20.

Top passers

  • CHI – Caleb Williams – 21/29, 269 yards, 2 TD
  • CAR – Bryce Young – 23/37, 361 yards, 3 TD, INT

Top rushers

  • CHI – D'Andre Swift – 18 rushes, 124 yards, 3 TD
  • CAR – Chuba Hubbard – 10 rushes, 49 yards, TD

Top receivers

  • CHI – Kalif Raymond – 8 receptions, 84 yards
  • CAR – Jalen Coker – 8 receptions, 138 yards, 2 TD
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With the win, the Bears started 1–0. They also scored 6 rushing touchdowns which was the most they've scored since they also scored 6 rushing touchdowns in a 49–0 shutout win over the Lions in 1941. The Bears' 59 points was their highest scoring output since they beat the Packers, 61–7, in 1980.

Week 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears – Game summary
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 3 039
Bears 3 0 003
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at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

More information Game information ...
Game information

First quarter

  • MIN – Will Reichard 35-yard field goal, 11:03. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 3:57.
  • CHI – Cairo Santos 50-yard field goal, 5:03. Tied 3–3. Drive: 9 plays, 37 yards, 6:00.

Second quarter

  • MIN – Will Reichard 49-yard field goal, 8:18. Vikings 6–3. Drive: 11 plays, 33 yards, 5:45.

Third quarter

  • No scoring plays

Fourth quarter

  • MIN – Will Reichard 39-yard field goal, 1:09. Vikings 9–3. Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 5:12.

Top passers

Top rushers

Top receivers

Close

In a low-scoring game, the Bears were held without a touchdown and fell to the Vikings, 9–3. Chicago’s only points came from a first-quarter field goal, while Minnesota scored three field goals. Early in the 4th Quarter, Bears QB Caleb Williams went down with a non-contact injury during a QB run play in the red zone and could not finish the game. The injury, later revealed to be a grade 2 hamstring strain, would sideline him for the foreseeable future. With the loss, the Bears fell to 1–1 and suffered their seventh consecutive home loss to the Vikings.

Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears – Game summary
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 007
Bears 7 3 10727
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at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

More information Game information ...
Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • CHI – Cairo Santos 29-yard field goal, 1:52. Bears 10–0. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 4:22.
  • PHI – Jalen Hurts 1-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 0:00. Bears 10–7. Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 1:52.

Third quarter

  • CHI – Cairo Santos 48-yard field goal, 10:17. Bears 13–7. Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, 3:11.
  • CHI – Kalif Raymond 41-yard pass from Case Keenum (Cairo Santos kick), 5:47. Bears 20–7. Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 2:49.

Fourth quarter

  • CHI – Case Keenum 1-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 7:19. Bears 27–7. Drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, 8:04.

Top passers

  • PHI – Jalen Hurts – 16/25, 153 yards, INT
  • CHI – Case Keenum – 24/34, 247 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

Top receivers

  • PHI – Devonta Smith – 6 receptions, 65 yards
  • CHI – Kalif Raymond – 6 receptions, 90 yards, TD
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This marked the Bears' second straight win over the Eagles.

Week 4: vs. New York Jets

Week 4: New York Jets at Chicago Bears – Game summary
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 3612
Bears 7 6 7323
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at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 72 °F (22 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,702
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (Fox): Tim Brando, Drew Brees and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Game Book
More information Game information ...
Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • NYJ – Jason Sanders 36-yard field goal, 8:15. Bears 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 16 yards, 3:27.
  • CHI – Cairo Santos 30-yard field goal, 2:29. Bears 10–3. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 5:46.
  • CHI – Cairo Santos 30-yard field goal, 0:00. Bears 13–3. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 1:44.

Third quarter

  • NYJ – Jason Sanders 30-yard field goal, 7:00. Bears 13–6. Drive: 5 plays, 16 yards, 1:46.
  • CHI – Kyle Monangai 5-yard run (Cairo Santos kick), 2:26. Bears 20–6. Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 4:34.

Fourth quarter

  • CHI – Cairo Santos 21-yard field goal, 10:01. Bears 23–6. Drive: 11 plays, 77 yards, 5:56.
  • NYJ – Isaiah Williams 58-yard pass from Geno Smith (kick failed), 9:16. Bears 23–12. Drive: 2 plays, 72 yards, 0:45.

Top passers

  • NYJ – Geno Smith – 8/15, 119 yards, TD
  • CHI – Tyson Bagent – 25/34, 268 yards, INT

Top rushers

  • NYJ – Braelon Allen – 14 rushes, 59 yards
  • CHI – Kyle Monangai – 30 rushes, 146 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

  • NYJ – Isaiah Williams – 2 receptions, 73 yards, TD
  • CHI – Rome Odunze – 6 receptions, 94 yards
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Week 5: at Green Bay Packers

Week 5: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 000
Packers 0 0 000
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at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Greg Olsen, and Pam Oliver
  • Preview

Standings

Division

More information NFC North, W ...
NFC North
 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 4 0 0 1.000 2–0 3–0 86 51 W4
Chicago Bears 3 1 0 .750 0–1 2–1 112 65 W2
Detroit Lions 2 2 0 .500 0–0 1–1 119 127 L1
Green Bay Packers 2 2 0 .500 0–1 1–2 73 105 W1
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Conference

More information Seed, Team ...
NFC
Seed Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 San Francisco 49ers West 4 0 0 1.000 2–0 2–0 .313 .313 W4
2 Minnesota Vikings North 4 0 0 1.000 2–0 3–0 .313 .313 W4
3 New York Giants East 3 1 0 .750 1–0 2–1 .313 .250 W2
4 Carolina Panthers South 2 2 0 .500 1–0 2–1 .625 .500 W1
Wild cards
5 Chicago Bears North 3 1 0 .750 0–1 2–1 .563 .417 W2
6 Seattle Seahawks West 3 1 0 .750 1–0 1–1 .250 .250 W1
7 Los Angeles Rams West 2 2 0 .500 0–1 2–1 .688 .625 W1
In the hunt
8 Atlanta Falcons South 2 2 0 .500 1–1 2–1 .438 .375 W2
9 Detroit Lions North 2 2 0 .500 0–0 1–1 .438 .250 L1
10 Green Bay Packers North 2 2 0 .500 0–1 1–2 .438 .125 W1
11 Philadelphia Eagles East 2 2 0 .500 1–0 1–2 .375 .125 L2
12 Dallas Cowboys East 2 2 0 .500 1–1 1–1 .438 .125 W1
13 Washington Commanders East 1 3 0 .250 0–2 1–2 .563 .750 L1
14 New Orleans Saints South 1 3 0 .250 0–1 0–2 .625 .750 L2
15 Arizona Cardinals West 1 3 0 .250 0–2 0–3 .625 .000 L3
16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 0 4 0 .000 0–0 0–2 .688 .000 L4
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References

External links

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Timelines

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