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.

Offseason

Roster changes

Free agents PositionPlayerTag2026 teamDate signedContractSource C Ryan Bates UFA SS Jaquan Brisker UFA Pittsburgh Steelers March 12, 2026 1 year, $5.5 million FS Kevin Byard UFA New England Patriots March 11, 2026 1 year, $9 million DT Andrew Billings UFA Arizona Cardinals March 16, 2026 1 year, $2.4 million LS Scott Daly UFA WR Devin Duvernay UFA Arizona Cardinals March 15, 2026 1 year, $2.5 million FS C. J. Gardner-Johnson UFA Buffalo Bills March 12, 2026 1 year, $6 million SS Elijah Hicks UFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 RB Travis Homer UFA MLB D'Marco Jackson UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $7.5 million LT Braxton Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $10 million CB Jaylon Jones UFA Chicago Bears March 13, 2026 QB Case Keenum UFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $5.5 million 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 WR Olamide Zaccheaus UFA Atlanta Falcons March 11, 2026 1 year, TBD DE Daniel Hardy RFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 2 year, $4.97 million G Jordan McFadden RFA Chicago Bears March 12, 2026 1 year, $1.3 million LT Theo Benedet ERFA Chicago Bears March 11, 2026 1 year, $1 million 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.

Signings PositionPlayerPrevious teamDate signedContractSourceSCoby BryantSeattle SeahawksMarch 11, 20263 year, $40 millionLBDevin BushCleveland BrownsMarch 11, 20263 year, $30 millionDTNeville GallimoreIndianapolis ColtsMarch 11, 20262 year, $12 million WRKalif RaymondDetroit LionsMarch 11, 20261 year, $5.1 millionOTJedrick WillsCleveland BrownsMarch 12, 20261 year, $1.2 millionCBCam LewisBuffalo BillsMarch 13, 20262 year, $6 millionDTKentavius StreetAtlanta FalconsMarch 13, 2026

Trades Position Arrived From Date of trade Departed WR 2026 2nd-round pick Buffalo Bills March 11, 2026 D. J. Moore 2026 5th-round pickCGarrett BradburyNew England PatriotsMarch 11, 20262027 5th-round pick

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

+ 2026 Chicago Bears draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 25 Dillon Thieneman S Oregon 2 57 Logan Jones C Iowa 60 Traded to the Tennessee Titans From Bills369Sam RoushTEStanfordFrom Titans 3 89 Zavion Thomas WR LSU 4 125 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 124 Malik MuhammadCBTexasFrom Jaguars via Panthers 129 Traded to the Carolina Panthers From Rams5144 Traded to the Carolina Panthers From Titans via Rams and Titans 165 Traded to the Buffalo Bills 166Keyshaun ElliottLBArizona St. 6 206 Traded to the Cleveland Browns 213 Jordan van den Berg DT Georgia Tech From Seahawks via Jaguars, Lions and Bills 7 239 Traded to the Buffalo Bills From Eagles via Jaguars and Browns 241 Traded to the Buffalo Bills

Notes

+ 2026 Chicago Bears undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Caden Barnett OL Wyoming 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

Staff

Current roster

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Cleveland Browns W 34–10 1–0 Soldier Field Recap 2 at Cincinnati Bengals L 9–27 1–1 Paycor Stadium Recap 3 at Tennessee Titans W 24–15 2–1 Nissan Stadium Recap

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

Game summaries Week 1: at Carolina Panthers

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

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

This marked the Bears' second straight win over the Eagles.

Week 4: vs. New York Jets

Week 5: at Green Bay Packers

Standings Division

Conference

References

External links