The Chicago Bears have finalized the majority of the 53-man roster decisions (one move to watch today is Chicago placing players such as Coby Bryant on the IR to fully add back James Lynch and presumedly Jack Sanborn). Now, all eyes are ahead to Week 1.

The Bears will be back at practice on Tuesday with the opening game still 12 days away when Chicago travels to take on the Carolina Panthers. Based on how the initial group looks, let’s set our expectations.

First and foremost, I truly believe Ben Johnson’s offense has the talent and scheme needed to be one of the highest-scoring offenses, without question. A lot of that rides on Caleb Williams taking that next step of course, but I have no doubt that he will. Outside of that, there are still three burning questions that concern me about this team.

1. How will Braxton Jones fair at left tackle, and when will Ozzy Trapilo be ready to step in

As things stand, Braxton Jones is projected to be the starting left tackle for the Bears in Week 1 for the fifth consecutive season. When Jones re-signed on a one-year deal, there was optimism that the former fifth-round pick was gearing up for potentially his best season with a different perspective and mental approach after being benched last year.

Entering training camp, Jones was the front-runner for the starting job but needed to earn it in a competition. It’s hard to say he really “earned it” because it seems like the other options simply didn’t. Jones missed some time with a knee injury and only played in one preseason game and it wasn’t the best showing.

However, Jones looked good in both joint practices. The most important part, Jones felt good at the end of both joint practices, which is important considering the reason he was pulled from the lineup last year is due to his play falling off late in games.

Come Week 1, Ben Johnson will also be able to scheme the offense to the right, behind second-team All-Pro Darnell Wright and put less pressure on Jones. Jones will also have the benefit of having Joe Thuney to his right. I don’t see it being much of a concern early in the season.

The real question is, how long will Jones hold that starting position with Ozzy Trapilo on the active roster and continuing to ramp back into game shape. It’ll still take Trapilo some time before he’s ready to fully practice, much less start a full game. But, eventually, the Bears will have to evaluate whether or not Trapilo is a better option than Jones once he’s fully ready and should have plenty of game tape on Jones to reflect on.

2. Who will start at safety opposite Dillon Thieneman with Coby Bryant out

The biggest loss for the Bears throughout training camp was losing their top free agent acquisition in safety Coby Bryant, who was looking very good early in camp and destined to be a team captain for the defense. Bryant will be placed on the IR soon and is expected to be sidelined until December at the earliest, if not for the entire season.

That puts a lot more pressure on first-round pick Dillon Thieneman going into his first NFL start. Thieneman has been through head-first into the fire throughout camp and thankfully didn’t turn into a burnt crisp. He showed off his speed and closing ability during the preseason and ended camp on an encouraging note with of his best days of practice.

The question is, who is going to start opposite him at safety. It’s a spot Ben Johnson said still isn’t decided, which is why the Bears kept four safeties on the roster outside of Bryant and Thieneman. The two options will likely be Xavier Woods, who was signed soon after Bryant went down and has 121 career starts, and Cam Lewis, who was signed back in the spring as a depth piece with 14 career starts.

It’s not going to be a simple answer and Dennis Allen will plan to move all of his secondary pieces around, but the likely scenario is that Woods starts at safety with Thieneman while Lewis and rookie Malik Muhammad II vie for the nickel position.

The good news is, the Bears have a healthy Jaylon Johnson this time around who can help change the equation for the starting secondary.

3. Will Dennis Allen’s plan with the defensive line work?

The last burning question goes back to the biggest question fans have had all offseason long: did the Bears do enough on the defensive line? The biggest moves the Bears made defensively this offseason involved upgrading the linebacker position and retooling the secondary.

The only additions made to the defensive front were a handful of veterans and two rookies on the interior and a late flier on Marcus Davenport off the edge, who we still haven’t seen practice with the team. Based on that, the answer is no. They didn’t do enough.

And so, the pressure is on Montez Sweat, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Austin Booker to prove that they are enough to create a consistent pass rush threat and more importantly hold the line of scrimmage in the run game for the improved back seven to clean up.

Looking closer at the pass rush, teams are going to scheme to stop Sweat every single week and will force Booker/Odeyingbo to beat them. It’s worth noting that Booker is dealing with a week-to-week groin injury and may not be out there for Week 1.

It’s also important to note that Allen’s scheme is dependent on a consistent interior push, which was non-existent last year. That’s the reason why the Bears added so many new bodies to the position and shipped Gervon Dexter Sr. out of town. So, can Jarrett live up to his contract in Year 2 and how involved will rookie Jordan van den Berg be out of the gate? Or do the Bears lean on veteran experience early on with Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street? It’s still a concern until that unit proves otherwise.