EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLAKE FOREST, Ill. -- In less than two weeks, the Chicago Bears will begin their 2026 NFL training camp with a handful of position battles that will ignite the physical brand of practices that have become common under coach Ben Johnson.While spring workouts provided a peak at how the veteran talent will mesh with plenty of new faces, particularly on defense, late July and August will go a long way in determining the futures of a handful of players coming off injury, those entering contract years and others aiming to win jobs back that they once lost.Here's a look at five Bears players who have the most at stake entering training camp (rookies report July 25 and veterans July 28).Tyrique Stevenson, CBStevenson once again faces a competition for the No. 2 cornerback spot in camp. Fourth-round rookie Malik Muhammad was handpicked by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and will push Stevenson for the role he had to fight for last season with Nahshon Wright.Pressure like that has drummed up a different level of motivation for Stevenson."The young man that reported last year is so totally different than the young man that's reporting this year," Bears cornerbacks coach Al Harris said. "He's focused in, he's locked in."During the spring, Stevenson said he spoke with offensive coaches to get tips on how they would strategize to play against him in coverage. With so many new faces in the secondary, Stevenson has an opportunity to be a leader on the back end of the defense that will have to replace a significant amount of takeaway production (a league-high 33) that left with players in free agency.He's also entering a contract year with the aim of proving to a defensive staff that did not draft him that he can fit into their long-term plans."The best thing I could do is come out here, be available, and be a good teammate, and also go out and do my job," Stevenson said. "And, honestly, that's how I'm looking at it."Kyler Gordon, CBDespite being under contract through the 2028 season, Gordon arguably has more to prove than anyone entering training camp.The Bears made Gordon the NFL's highest paid nickel corner in April 2025 with a three-year, $40 million contract. He played in only five games last season as one soft tissue injury early in camp led to others in-season and an extended stint on injured reserve.His availability is under a microscope, particularly after another soft tissue injury cost him the spring offseason program."We spoke last year and neither one of us were really happy with how it went just from a perspective of being available to get to know each other," Johnson said. "... This spring was going to be a springboard for us to get going in the right direction. So, you know, we're still working through that. We're still trying to get that availability piece going."We know he's a good player when he's out there, but trust level is a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room, and you can only develop that trust by being available."Braxton Jones, LTUnlike last offseason, Jones isn't off to a slow start while still rehabbing from an ankle injury. He took all the first-team reps this spring and enters camp in the lead to win the left tackle job, a competition that also features Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie.Neither of those two aforementioned tackles have played at a high level in more than a year, and with 44 career starts, this is Jones' job to lose. Being benched before halftime in Week 4 last season might have been a good thing as it allowed him the opportunity to reset while learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle."I just don't think I was at my best with my injury and mentally it can be a lot," Jones said. "But I'm grateful for that, to be able to look back and see that and realize that I was right there, I just needed to trust what I was in. That's simply all it is. So going back, looking at that, I'm very grateful that it all happened the way I needed, just because it kind of punched me in the face a little bit too as well and made me wake up a little bit."Jones is back in Chicago on a one-year deal. He's not only playing for a starter's role in 2026 but to force the Bears to consider keeping him around once Ozzy Trapilo returns from his patella tendon injury.Dayo Odeyingbo, DEThe Bears opted against signing a marquee edge rusher in free agency or using premium draft capital on a defensive end, which remains a question mark for a unit that ranked 31st in pass rush win rate (29%) and 29th in pressure percentage (28%).Odeyingbo was expected to be that player when Chicago gave him a three-year, $48 million deal ($32 million guaranteed) with only 17.5 career sacks at the time. He totaled one sack during his first season with the Bears, which was cut short after eight games when Odeyingbo ruptured his Achilles in a loss at Baltimore.Odeyingbo was back for the final OTA and participated in mandatory minicamp, which Johnson considered a "bonus" given the timeline for his return to the field."We weren't quite sure when we started the offseason program that we would get him for any length of time," Johnson said. "But the fact that he's on the field, he wants to be out there, it's just another step forward in terms of him gaining confidence again. And how he's moving. He's done a great job being attentive in meetings. And I know he was really itching to get back out there with his teammates. So it's a step in the right direction for sure."Odeyingbo will battle Austin Booker, who surged in the second half of the 2025 season (12 QB hits, 4.5 sacks), and Shemar Turner to hold down the D-end spot opposite Montez Sweat.The way Odeyingbo performs in camp will either prove the Bears right in standing pat with their current edge rushers or push the front office to sign one of several still available in free agency, notably Jadeveon Clowney, Von Miller or Joey Bosa.Rome Odunze, WRWith DJ Moore gone and his targets up for grabs, Odunze has a big opportunity to establish himself as WR1, a role he was on track for in 2025 before a stress fracture in his left foot derailed his second season. He still finished as Caleb Williams' most targeted receiver (90), tied for the team lead with six touchdowns and third in receiving yards (661), but it was far from the season he envisioned for himself after tearing up training camp last August.Odunze's foot has healed without having to undergo surgery, but whether he looks like the same explosive, contested-catch type of player that he was prior to injury will be monitored closely. What's more is that the update Odunze provided during OTAs about the health of his foot was somewhat jarring."This is my new normal," Odunze said. "And it's not from a standpoint that I'm always in pain but the way my foot broke there's callouses in there that like creates a different type of foot structure with those bones -- different types of things that kind of shift things around. So my new normal was kind of what I am going into. And I don't think that's anything that's going to prohibit me from making plays, but I feel like with the break, it's just like when you tear your AC (joint), it's never really back to normal."If Odunze's "new normal" allows him to live up to his status as the No. 9 overall draft pick, then his career trajectory will continue moving upward. But with a hungry Luther Burden III also eyeing the distinction as the Bears' top wideout, Odunze has to prove he can cement himself in that role.
