Bears announce first wave of 2026 offseason roster moves with young talent expected to stick around in Chicago

The Chicago Bears have announced their reserve/future contracts going into 2026.

Kole Noble — Chicago Bears News Writer
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Nov 2, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears running back Brittain Brown (38) runs for a touchdown against Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) and cornerback DJ Turner II (20) during the third quarter at Paycor Stadium.
Chicago Bears running back Brittain Brown (38) runs for a touchdown against Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) and cornerback DJ Turner II (20) during the third quarter at Paycor Stadium. Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears have abruptly turned the page to the offseason, with a blank chapter ready to be written for the 2026 season after the team’s divisional-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Life in the NFL moves fast, as there’s no time to sit around and reflect on all of the emotions, good and bad, from the previous season.

As such, the Bears got back to work quickly this week to start laying out the plan for the offseason and improvements that can be made with this coaching staff and roster. Regarding the roster moves, the Bears announced the first wave on Tuesday.

Bears announce the reserve/future contracts going into 2026

The following 15 players signed reserve/future contracts with the Bears, meaning they are now set to join the 90-man roster when the 2026 league year kicks off in March.

  • TE Nikola Kalinic
  • RB Brittain Brown
  • WR JP Richardson
  • WR Maurice Alexander
  • TE Stephen Carlson
  • DL Jonathan Garvin
  • DL Jeremiah Martin
  • LB Dominique Hampton
  • DB Dontae Manning
  • DB Gervarrius Owens
  • DB Dallis Flowers
  • OL Kyle Hergel
  • LB Nephi Sewell
  • LS Luke Elkin
  • TE Qadir Ismail
  • DL Jamree Kromah

The majority of these players were on the Bears’ 16-man practice squad throughout the 2025-26 season or spent time in Chicago at some point during 2025-26. Most of them are also first- or second-year players with developmental traits the Bears want to continue working on going into next summer.

Of those 14 players, six were elevated from the Bears’ practice squad and on the gameday roster throughout the regular season and the playoffs (Kalinic, Richardson, Alexander, Brown, Carlson, and Flowers). Some even earned some high praise from head coach Ben Johnson for their contributions.

These players give the Bears some nice baseline depth going into the 2026 offseason to continue working with, and who knows, maybe the development pays off, and some of these players show they can make more of an impact next season.

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