The Chicago Bears are counting on all of their edge rushers to step up to the next level in 2025. Odds are, not all of them will.

It's a gamble for Dennis Allen's defense that needs Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo to make more high impact plays this season. A veteran free agent backup is still needed.

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The Chicago Bears have been testing out the positional flexibility of Kyler Gordon, Gervon Dexter and Ruben Hyppolite to see where their future roles could be in Dennis Allen's defense.

It could give Ryan Poles more options when other key players depart in the future.

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Ben Johnson made it clear that Colston Loveland and Luther Burden are missing key developmental time with their injuries this offseason.

That could slow down what they're able to do in their rookie seasons, making Cole Kmet and D.J. Moore that much more important for the Chicago Bears.

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The Chicago Bears have the best group of cornerbacks, and maybe the best secondary, in the NFC North now that the Green Bay Packers released Jaire Alexander.

That bodes well for wide receivers like Rome Odunze, who is set up for a Year 2 leap. And free agent running back Nick Chubb is now no longer an option for Chicago.

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Some unexpected names stood out to Ben Johnson as the notable performers at Chicago Bears mandatory minicamp.

Jaquan Brisker also made his presence felt at practice as he returns from a serious concussion, and Tyrique Stevenson is ready to put last year's struggles behind him.

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FanDuel
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The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings have had parallel timelines in their team rebuilding process, hiring GMs and drafting QBs at the same time.

Kevin O'Connell has clearly been ahead, but Ryan Poles is catching up with the addition of Ben Johnson as the Bears transition into win-now mode.

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D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet and D'Andre Swift all faced some pressure from the Chicago Bears' moves this offseason, but they're buying in to Ben Johnson at mandatory minicamp.

It's going to be an adjustment for all three, but they will all maintain the same important roles they had under the previous regime.

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As the Chicago Bears report to mandatory minicamp, some key players need to step up to keep their jobs or earn bigger roles this season.

A few starting spots are up for grabs, and a few positions need to show that they aren't the weaknesses they might look like on paper.

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