The Chicago Bears will start their OTA sessions this post-Memorial Day week, with three days of work from Wednesday through Friday. While voluntary work without pads can lead to certain things being way overblown, like who isn't present and who looks especially good on the practice field, some viable things can be learned.
OTAs are, in part, a time to try stuff, like configurations of certain units, where players line up, etc., without consequences. Maybe something previously unknown, unclear, or simply not realized at all can be unearthed with an eye on trying it again when training camp starts.
Going a little deeper, the foundation for training camp position battles can be laid during OTAs. In some cases, a lurking position battle can even be turned on its head if someone really performs during this time of the year.
With that, here are three Bears starters who could find themselves down a notch on the depth chart after OTAs.
3 Chicago Bears starters who may find themselves on the bench after 2026 OTAs
3. LT Braxton Jones
After a very unideal contract year in 2025, with an early benching followed by an injury during practice, Jones came back to the Bears on a one-year deal this offseason. With Ozzy Trapilo (ruptured patellar tendon) out of the mix for at least a big chunk of the coming season, a second annual competition for the starting job at left tackle will include Jones, free agent signing Jedrick Wills, and fellow holdover Theo Benedet.
It's safe to say Jones is completely healthy for the first time in approaching two years, since a major leg injury shortened his 2024 campaign. It's also safe to say, barring an injury, he'll have to be clearly unseated to not be the Bears' Week 1 starting left tackle. A notable free agent addition with ties to head coach Ben Johnson is not happening at this point.
But if Wills is finally all the way healthy after missing all of last season, he still carries a whiff of the potential that made him the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Benedet remains an interesting player himself, and he will only continue to benefit from working with offensive line coach Dan Roushar.
Shy of a significant injury he suffers, anything that happens at OTA probably won't be nearly enough to take Jones off the top of the Bears' left tackle depth chart. It could happen, though, since he should only be (strongly?) penciled in as the starter right now.
2. C Garrett Bradbury
The sudden retirement of Drew Dalman left the Bears to find a new starting center, and they made a quick pivot to acquire Bradbury from the New England Patriots. Heading into the final year of his contract, Bradbury was easily seen as a one-year stopgap with a draft pick sure to follow as Dalman's true long-term successor.
That seemingly inevitable draft pick did come, as Logan Jones out of the University of Iowa became a Bear in the second round. Johnson quickly made it clear Jones has a chance to start right away, while confirming "the ball's in his court."
Jones' college coach, Kirk Ferentz, definitely feels his former lineman will be an immediate, worthy competitor for Bradbury, with physical ability and mental acuity in equal measure.
More than anything Bradbury does or doesn't do during OTAs, it'll be up to Jones to show he has an early handle on all the aspects of being the Bears' starting center. The competition will surely extend to training camp, when padded work will allow for a better physical evaluation, but the rookie can lay the foundation for winning the job right now.
1. CB Tyrique Stevenson
Stevenson technically lost his starting job as last season wound down. If the season opener was this week, though, he'd very likely be the starter opposite Jaylon Johnson. It's also abundantly clear his hold on that starting job is very tenuous, regardless of how motivated he appears to be heading into a contract year.
Cornerback Malik Muhammad is the clearest threat to Stevenson, and that alone lands him prominently as a rookie who will be worth monitoring during the Bears' OTAs.
Is Muhammad getting any reps with the starters, especially with Johnson not looking likely to be present until mandatory minicamp? Is he getting work on the outside and in the slot? Even though only so much can be taken from practice work without pads on, is he making notable plays that are highlighted by beat writers, coaches, or even the team via official social media posts?
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Stevenson is the Bears' starter who is the most vulnerable to losing his starting job, if not during OTAs then during training camp, and it's not particularly close.
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