Burning questions remaining regarding the Bears roster following mandatory minicamp (2024)

With the majority of the roster on break until training camp for the Chicago Bears, now is the perfect opportunity to take a step back and evaluate what we've heard out of practice during the last four weeks regarding the roster construction.

Overall, the Bears seem to be in a great spot heading into training camp on both sides of the ball and the roster really seems to be coming together, although there are still some lingering things left to be answered.

“I think you can really hone in on the battles,” head coach Matt Eberflus explained. “We still have a few spots of course. The roster’s never perfect and it’s never finalized, but we’ll be looking at that as we go. You can certainly pick those spots looking at the roster."

That being said, here are the main four burning questions the team has to keep in mind before deciding the 53-man roster after training camp.

After paying big money last free agency to bring in offensive lineman Nate Davis, the investment hasn't quite lived up to the price tag. Last offseason, Davis' availability in practice was shaky due to personal matters and his availability has once again been called into question following minicamp.

Even though Davis was on the field during minicamp, he rarely took the field during team drills. When asked if he has any concerns about Davis' workload in practice ramping up by training camp, here's what Eberflus had to say last week.

"I don't think so, I mean obviously we'll have the medical meeting at the end of this whole process here. But, again, I don't know that for 100 percent. I haven't heard that or foreseen that."

Eberflus also doubled down on the idea that when he's on the field, Davis is the expected starter at right guard. In his absence from team drills, the Bears have experimented with different lineups on the offensive line.

"I don't know yet," Eberflus said. "I think we'll see how it goes. We had [Ryan] Bates there, and he's played there. [Coleman] Shelton's played there and at center. Davis has played there... he's been our starter. I expect him to be in there [at right guard]."

We'll see if Davis actually ramps back up as a full participant during training camp and provides some much needed certainty to the offensive line.

This is a question that could be answered with a simple no by the time training camp comes to a close. While the Bears will look to be more pass oriented under offensive coordinator Shane Waldron with Caleb Williams under center, the number of wide receivers sticking on the 53-man roster could be less than the season prior.

Last season, the Bears did keep six wide receivers (Chase Claypool, Velus Jones Jr., Darnell Mooney, DJ Moore, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Tyler Scott) and at the present moment going into training camp, only five wide receivers appear to be locks to make the roster (DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Scott, and Jones).

So far, we haven't heard any signs about any of the other wide receivers on the team shining brighter than the others on the field. Nsimba Webster has been seen catching passes from Williams, as has UDFA John Jackson. Players like Dante Pettis and Peter LeBlanc offer special teams value, and veteran Freddie Swain has a solid relationship and history with Waldron from their time in Seattle. If a sixth wide receiver finds their way onto the 53-man roster, it's anyone's guess who it could be.

The Bears' front office made a real effort to add some more experienced depth to an already solid unit in the secondary this offseason, which will lead to some exciting battles in training camp.

The biggest addition was, of course, safety Kevin Byard, who has already stepped quickly into his role as the veteran leader on defense and starting making plays.

"He's special in terms of a leader. People respect him because of the man that he is," Eberflus said about Byard. "He's been a devoted guy to this game for a long time. You can feel the love of the game that he has. He's like a coach on the field and he's got really good ball hawking ability, is why I like him a lot."

So far, the answer has been yes. But, anything can happen between now and next month considering the roster is only at 88 players.

Available names such as Calais Campbell, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Carl Lawson have been floated around regarding a free agent the Bears should pursue, as has re-signing Yannick Ngakoue. However, such a move hasn't been needed so far.

"We're trying to pick up with where we left off last year," Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat explained. "We lost two great guys up-front but we got some young guys really stepping up and an experienced guy like Jake Martin is really making some noise out there. So, I'm pretty excited with what I'm seeing."

It seems like the Bears really want to see what they have in a players like defensive tackle Gervon Dexter going into Year 2 (whom Sweat wants to see take the chains off) and rookie defensive end Austin Booker (who's already impressed the right people).

"Oh man I’m excited about [Booker]," Sweat said. "He’s got the whole make up, to the frame, to the pass rushing ability, he’s gonna be a great player. I just gotta be that big brother for him and be there when he has a question."

Once the pads really come on during training camp and the rushers start rushing, then the coaching staff can really evaluate what they need, or don't, on the defensive front.