The Chicago Bears second preseason game is right around the corner. We saw plenty in the first game, but now there is a lot to build off of, and the trends are what will win roster spots and jobs on the depth chart. What are the most important things that fans should be watching for in the preseason?
10. Is Roschon Johnson ready to work with the Chicago Bears first-team?
Roschon Johnson was a winner in the first preseason game. He had a great 24-yard run where he broke tackles and kept the run alive. He worked in pass protection and special teams, which are his calling cards, and if he had been playing with better players against better competition, we might have been able to see more of what he was capable of.
That may be what we get to see this weekend, as Johnson has been moving up the depth chart. An injury to Trestan Ebner has taken snaps away from him and added them to his plate. However, more than that, he has now entered the three-man mix with the starting running backs.
Johnson is now in the mix with Herbert, who played all seven snaps with Justin Fields, and Foreman, who played seven snaps with PJ Walker, to just three for Johnson. The question is how will that split look this week? Will it be different? We should get a bigger sample of one of the two quarterbacks playing more, so who is on the field when those guys are out there? If it is Johnson, it is a sign that he will be getting serious work sooner than later.
9. Who is winning the Chicago Bears depth battle at safety?
Jaquan Brisker will probably not play this week after missing last week as well. Eddie Jackson might play, but it is not like the Bears really need to see much out of him. So, the status on the safeties should be getting Elijah Hicks as much time as possible and then seeing who it is that will join him as the depth.
A.J. Thomas is a front-runner, but he is a second-year UDFA. Adrian Colbert has more experience and has mixed in with Hicks about as much as Thomas. Kendall Williamson seems to be the last one of the group, but he also has the most invested in him. Williamson is a rookie seventh-round pick, so his contract will help him if he gives them a reason to keep him.
At this point it is closer to a competition between Thomas and Colbert but anything can change in the NFL in the course of just a few snaps.
8. Is Velus Jones still returning punts, and will anyone push him to return kicks?
Velus Jones is slowly losing all the roles he has. The former third-round pick will hardly see the field on offense if things go right. So, if he wants to stick around, it will have to be special teams. The issue is that he keeps fumbling punts.
Last year, he lost the job to Dante Pettis, and this year, it feels like they want Tyer Scott to win it. That would leave Jones as just a kick-return option. Last year, when he was just a kick return option, he was inactive.
He was activated in week 11, after missing two weeks, but he went from one phase of special teams to five. He added snaps on kick and punt coverage, got a snap as a kick blocker, and even was in on punt returns, but to block for Dante Pettis.
This year, he has not played those roles on special teams. So, if Jones gets a second chance on punt returns, or if we see Jones playing multiple special teams phases, it shows that he is here to stay. If we see he loses punt returns, does not add new special teams work, and there is a new name like Trestan Ebner getting chances on kick return, he may not even make the roster when it is all said and done. This week will show us a lot.
7. Are the early round rookies ready to show progress?
One of the big notes from the preseason is always the development of the rookies. The four rookies who dominated the early part of the 2023 NFL draft saw heavy workloads in their NFL debuts. Darnell Wright got the standard starter treatment, while Zacch Pickens and Gervon Dexter were backups together and closed out the half. Tyrique Stevenson played as much as anybody as the team looked to see if he could start in week one. Now, all four need to build off of their first week.
The interior defensive lineman has the most areas to improve in. They both were up and down, although Pickens had a few more ups. Still, we want to see both of them prove that they can get into rotational roles in week one. Stevenson is a good start or two in the preseason away from locking down the outside cornerback job if he has not won it already.
Then, there is Wright. You would assume at one point in the next two weeks, we will see Justin Fields and the starters for more than seven snaps. Wright showed a glimpse, but it was so early and we need to see so much more. These four will be major players to watch.
6. Can Greg Stroman win a roster spot with the Chicago Bears?
An underrated aspect of the Chicago Bears is the chance that Greg Stroman has to make the roster. Stroman flashed in 2018, but injuries from 2019-2021 have derailed his career. He stayed healthy in 2022 and found a way onto the practice squad. Stroman also played the season-ender for the Chicago Bears, although he played on the outside.
In 2023, he is back with the Bears, and his chance of making the roster comes from his work in the slot. Stroman was the backup in the slot behind Kyler Gordon last week in the preseason opener. It is because Josh Blackwell is injured. Blackwell is expected to make the roster, but his health is hurting that chance.
He is a UDFA entering year two, and most ofh is work was on special teams. If Stroman can show a higher ceiling, and equal special teams value over the next two seasons he can beat out Blackwell for a spot. If Blackwell cannot get healthy then Stroman is going to win a spot anyways. Will he get the same type of look, or will they look even longer into what he can bring?
5. Can Tyson Bagent show enough to earn a roster spot?
The Chicago Bears will sit Justin Fields for the second preseason game. This is a good sign for all quarterbacks. It is great that Fields is showing enough that the coaches do not need to see more. PJ Walker gets to start and should get some starting-caliber talent around him.
Then, Tyson Bagent and Nathan Peterman are in for a lot of playing time. Bagent showed that the game was not too big for him in his NFL debut. At the very least, he can hang in the NFL. Now, the question is how he can build off of that.
As of now, he is in a battle with Nathan Peterman for the fourth spot. Bagent has far more upside, but Peterman brings stability, while Bagent is more of a project. Through one week, the team may be learning that he is not as much of a project as some think. Does he show enough to get on the roster as the third quarterback? The new rule encourages the team to keep a third. Still, he has to show more. The good news is that he should get a chance.
4. Can Noah Sewell push Jack Sanborn to start for the Chicago Bears?
An underrated storyline from this summer has been how good Noah Sewell has been. He has been a professional who hit the ground running and has not looked back. The issue for him is that he has been unable to turn that into a starting role.
The Chicago Bears told Jack Sanborn that his injury would not cost him his job, and they held the job for him. However, what will be interesting to watch is what happens without Tremaine Edmunds. Edmunds has not practiced in a couple of weeks, and he will not play this weekend.
When he missed the preseason opener, it was Sanborn who stepped into his role. This is interesting in two different ways. First, Sanborn is ahead of Sewell. However, Sewell will then slide into the starting SAM role, which would technically be where Sanborn starts when Edmunds is healthy.
If Sewell flashes in this role, does he find a way to sneak up on Sanborn, or does Sanborn keep his job because of technicalities of injury to himself and Edmunds?
3. Are the new additions ready to get on the field for the Chicago Bears?
The Chicago Bears made two interesting waiver claims in the past week, and both of them have a chance to get onto the field this weekend and potentially earn a 53-man roster spot. Logan Stenberg was the first signed. He was a former fourth-round pick and made four starts last year. He is now in year four and has a real chance to push both Alex Leatherwood and Ja'Tyre Carter for the 53-man roster.
Stenberg signed right before the preseason opener, so now he has had plenty of time to adjust. He will get a lot of time in the second half on Saturday.
The other name to watch is Mykal Walker. Walker started for the Falcons in 2022 and was a special teams asset in 2021. The injuries to DeMarquis Gates and Dylan Cole have him closer to a lock than some fans realize. Still, he just signed on Monday, so this will be a fast jump onto the roster.
The Chicago Bears gave Buddy Johnson 34 snaps on Saturday and waived him this week. If Walker performs, he has a chance to play at least that many snaps, and lockdown a roster spot as he learns the defense on the fly.
2. Are there changes to the Chicago Bears edge rotation?
Last weekend, the edge rusher rotation was telling. Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker did not play at all, ensuring their status. Walker was injured as well, but his status is locked. Then, Rasheem Green and Dominique Robinson started and played sparingly. It showed that they are clearly the backups and have a great shot to make the team.
Then, Trevis Gipson and Terrell Lewis came on and got a heavy workload, clearly showing that they are fighting to earn a roster spot. Now, the issue is that Gipson and Lewis excelled. Do they move up? Who moves down? The Bears did not give Robinson and Green a strong enough look to move either down, as they prefer those two after weeks of OTAs and training camp.
Trevis Gipson did a great job of keeping his name in the conversation, but he did not lock a spot down. If the Bears give him limited work this weekend, it actually may be a good sign for him. If he has to do the same thing, work every snap against backups and third strings, it may just be a showcase to trade.
1. Will Travis Bell push for a roster spot with the Chicago Bears?
The Chicago Bears seventh-round pick made a splash in his NFL debut when he recorded a sack. He showed some versatility lining up and down the defensive front, and he at least made a case for making the active roster.
When the Bears drafted him, it felt like a project. Ryan Poles fell in love with the character of Bell and thinks that Bell can become the player he envisions if he buys into the coaching. Still, he is a seventh-round pick from Kennesaw State and may not have been drafted if Poles did not meet him in person.
This shows how much of a project he is. Still, he flashed some upside, and now that it is on tape, you cannot put it back. Bell seems loyal to Poles, but someone offers him a spot on the active roster, and Bell is on the Bears practice squad, he has to take it.
One sack late in the preseason will not have teams claiming Bell yet. If he puts together another strong weekend and shows that he grew from one week to the next, that is when the thought of him making the team would come into focus.