Chicago Bears' roster has undergone major change. Now, how will they get better?

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Of the 53 players on the Bears’ active roster at the time of that season-ending loss, 20 are gone. A dozen players who started at least once last season have exited, a cast of proven performers that includes last season’s NFL interceptions leader Kevin Byard, Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman, standout receiver DJ Moore, leading tackler Tremaine Edmunds, Pro Bowl cornerback Nahshon Wright, fellow defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Nick McCloud, and linebacker/special teams ace Amen Ogbongbemiga. In short, the roster turnover has been significant, and over the past few months, the Bears have been replacing as much as they’ve been building. Free agency offered the chance to fill holes and stockpile depth. And last weekend’s draft ultimately brought a seven-player class to aid the Bears’ championship pursuit. “I know we got better as a football team,” general manager Ryan Poles said when the draft concluded. “We added competition. And usually when you add competition, good things happen.” The 10 most notable additions through all these roster-building stages: Still, one big question lingers at Halas Hall. As the Bears examine their present and future, how do they distinguish between offseason change and offseason improvement? Coach Ben Johnson fielded that question directly Saturday, but before offering his overview of the roster alterations, he ran first toward the mirror, where his reflection prompted vows for better coaching in 2026. More alignment top to bottom, Johnson emphasized. Sharper direction. And clearer communication. Johnson successfully brought his vision for competitive football to life last season. Now, that must be followed by bigger leaps in how everything is taught. “We’re going to be so much better off having gone through the (video) cut-ups,” he said. “I know we really refined things and made a big effort here during springtime already to get our fundamentals and techniques to another level in terms of how we’re teaching it and how we’re coaching it. “I think it really starts there — at least from my lens. I think we’ll be better teachers not only of the scheme but also with the vision of what we want our brand of football to look like.” That improvement process is already well underway as rookie minicamp closes in and with organized team activities not far behind. But what about the revised construct of the roster? “Just like Ryan said, we have created competition across the board,” Johnson said. “I really expect some of these young players we already had in the program to take a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2 with this coaching staff. And then we created a lot of competition at every position group.” The depth chart looks solid. But now that competition must come to life. Defensively, there’s no question the Bears checked the box for increasing their speed, with players like Bryant, Bush and Thieneman offering coordinator Dennis Allen added juice. A durable, versatile safety who could start in almost any coach’s defensive scheme. There’s understandable outside worry about the Bears’ stalled efforts in adding to their pass rush, particularly coming off a season in which they were a bottom-five defense in creating pressure, according to TruMedia. To that end, Johnson has expressed confidence that better coaching will help create improved production. “When you’re a first-year staff, not everything is going to look the way you want it to,” Johnson said. “On offense and defense, you look at the self-scout, and it doesn’t look the way we want it to look. To me, that’s a reflection of coaching. We have made a concerted effort on both sides of the ball there to make sure we’re going to get it to look more the way we want it to look. That’s natural.” It’s also important to emphasize that a good chunk of the Bears’ 2026 improvement must be aided by progress from within rather than stimulated by roster changes. The team’s up escalator should be powered by: • Natural development from core offensive players like Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and, most significantly, quarterback Caleb Williams. • Improved health and availability from defensive starters and key contributors like Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Grady Jarrett and T.J. Edwards. • A combination of both from Dayo Odeyingbo, Shemar Turner and Braxton Jones. Johnson and his coaches must find ways to bring the best out of as many of those players as possible. And, as the hyper-driven coach frequently points out, the Bears must make the most of every day they have together this spring to create valuable momentum heading into training camp. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms