Ben Johnson shares his vision for the Bears roster and makes it clear what 2025 success truly looks like ahead of the trade deadline
The Chicago Bears head coach has the right approach going into the final stretch of the season.
Over the last few seasons, the importance of the NFL trade deadline has grown tremendously compared to years before.
Coaches and general managers are starting to get more aggressive in adding that final piece to fuel a playoff run or fill major voids shown during the first few weeks of the season. But, not every team falls into that boat despite fans eager for their teams to make big headline trades.
Such is the case for the Chicago Bears. Four games into the 2025 season, fans have been eager to see general manager Ryan Poles make a splash, but once again head coach Ben Johnson shut down some of the potential trade interest surrounding the Bears.
Ben Johnson is leaning into a long-term roster building approach with trade deadline looming
“We’ve got a good roster of 53. We’ve got a good practice squad that we can elevate if needed. And that’s really what we’re looking at,” Johnson said on Saturday. “Some guys are going to go down, some guys are going to step up in their place. We’re just doing the best we can to find out, how can we best fill those voids and how can we help highlight these guys and what they do best.”
Simply put, the Bears wanting to see what they have in the building as priority #1 in 2025. That might not be something some fans want to hear when it comes to making some splashes at the deadline, but Johnson has the right approach when it comes to his first season as a head coach.
“I don’t look into what we don’t have or what we would love to have,” Johnson added. “That’s not really the thought process this time of year. Once we get through the year, we’ll go through the evaluation process and make sure that we feel good about who our guys are – whether we need to extend some guys – or whether we could potentially upgrade somewhere.”
As it stands going into Week 6, Johnson feels confident in the players currently in the building and the team’s ability to win games down the long stretch with those players.
It’s Year 1 of this new era with Johnson at the helm. The 2025 season isn’t about winning 10+ games or having some deep playoff run, although those outcomes would certainly be a plus. It’s about establishing a culture and identifying the foundational players currently in the building.
“I think the vision is shared. We’re still working toward getting all those elements in place,” Johnson explained. “I think it’s rare that year one, a new coach comes in and everything is exactly the way you want it. We’re working toward that and I think we’ve made tremendous strides toward that as we’ve gone through. And there’s still a lot of work to be done. But, I’m really encouraged about the direction we’re headed right now.”
Sometimes, expectations from the fanbase need to calm down. This is a long-term process Johnson is undergoing to turn the Bears back around. It won’t happen immediately and getting some one-year mercenary to help the team in 2025 really doesn’t change anything with that long-term vision.
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