Projected Bears starters by Week 1 who won’t hold their jobs by Thanksgiving
The Chicago Bears were no strangers to shuffling the roster during the 2025-26 season and these projected starters entering training camp shouldn’t get too comfortable, even if they’re holding down starting spots when the season begins.
The Chicago Bears had a lot of roster shuffling throughout the 2025-26, partially due to injuries and partially due to inadequate play as the season progressed.
Think back to Week 1 when players like Braxton Jones, Olamide Zaccheaus, Tyrique Stevenson, and others were out there as the starters and how the lineup looked after Thanksgiving when the Bears’ playoff push kicked into gear.
Great coaches understand when to pull the plug and have quality backups in the waiting for when that time comes. Earlier this week, ESPN ranked the starting lineups for all 32 teams (the Bears ranked 17th by the way) and instead of wasting energy on how that was an unfair ranking, I instead want to take a different approach by breaking down a few projected starters who might not be in that position by the time November rolls around.
LT Braxton Jones
Let me first start out by saying that I believe Braxton Jones will enter camp in the lead for the starting left tackle position, a spot he manned for the entire offseason program. I also believe that Jones will have that job locked up a lot earlier than he did last offseason after the final decision wasn’t announced until just before the season opener.
After switching between four different left tackle options last season, I strongly believe the best action for the Bears is picking one to be the starter and sticking with that player. Jones, in my mind, is the best of the current three now that he’s fully healthy and coming back with the right mentality.
Where things could change by Thanksgiving depends on the health of Ozzy Trapilo. Trapilo’s current timeline would have him back at practice, at best, by Weeks 7-9. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be until Week 13. So, there is a shot Trapilo could be game ready by that point and slide back into the starting job if there’s no concern about any re-injury.
CB Tyrique Stevenson
After letting Pro Bowl alternate Nahshon Wright walk in free agency, the Bears are once again putting faith in former second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson as a projected starter. Stevenson has shown the ability to be a really good football player in the past capable of making game-changing plays. He’s also proved to be a liability at times capable of allowing game-changing plays.
The coaching staff rightfully wanted more consistency out of that position, which is a heavily targeted spot when a healthy Jaylon Johnson is on the field. But, as things stand, Stevenson is getting one more opportunity to prove himself as a full-time starter on the outside going into the final year of his contract.
If the inconsistent play continues, the Bears could pull the plug again and replace Stevenson in the starting lineup with Malik Muhammad. Personally, I would love to see Stevenson finally play a complete season and ball out. But, it’s just something we haven’t been able to see out of him yet.
C Garrett Bradbury
Much has been made about the center battle going into training camp after head coach Ben Johnson said that the ball is in rookie Logan Jones’ court to push for the starting job. Frankly, I don’t see it being much of a battle at this point in the year. Garrett Bradbury is a veteran player with real NFL experience and already has a great feel for the offense.
The Bears are best suited to open the season with him playing to the right of Joe Thuney. Now, if Bradbury’s play starts to decline and Jones gets more time to learn the offense, I wouldn’t be against making a mid-season switch.
But, when it comes to Week 1 as the opening day starter, Bradbury should easily be the one in that spot and should ideally hold it for the entire year until handing over the reigns to Jones in 2027, again that’s unless his play starts dropping.
WR Kalif Raymond
I could see the situation in the slot turning out the same way it did last season with Zaccheaus and Luther Burden III. The Bears will open the season with the veteran Kalif Raymond as the starter in 3-WR sets while sprinkling in rookie Zavion Thomas on designed plays, similar to how Burden was used early in the season.
As the season progresses, Thomas’ ability will be hard to keep off the field and once he understands all of the plays, alignments, and motions, he can take over the starting role.
That doesn’t mean Raymond will completely be phased out though. Zaccheaus’ role in 2025 diminished due to his drop issues along with the added trust in Burden. I don’t see that happening to Raymond and by Thanksgiving, I see both Raymond and Thomas mixing in and out of the starting lineup.
LB Noah Sewell
Listing Noah Sewell as the third starting linebacker shows how out of touch ESPN is with what’s going on in Chicago. Sewell suffered a torn Achilles in Week 17 last season and might even start the season on the injury list. In the meantime, Dennis Allen completely overhauled the linebacker room by re-signing D’Marco Jackson, bringing back Jack Sanborn, and drafting Keyshaun Elliott.
Even when Sewell is cleared to play, there’s not a chance I see him cracking the starting lineup over those guys. I view Jackson as the Week 1 starter when the Bears go into 3-LB sets alongside Devin Bush and T.J. Edwards, it’s not even up to debate.
As the season progresses, Sanborn or Elliott could find their way into that spot but right now, those three are the best three linebackers on this entire roster.