Story by
Bears insider shares latest on starting safety spot
- Story by
- Bears insider shares latest on starting safety spot
Following the Chicago Bears ' preseason finale win over the Tennessee Titans , head coach Ben Johnson came away feeling more comfortable with left tackle than safety, which isn't exactly comforting with the regular season less than two weeks away.
Safety was expected to be a strength for Chicago this season, but that was thrown into flux after free-agent Coby Bryant suffered a knee injury that required surgery and will keep him out from four to six months. That left the Bears scrambling to find a starter opposite first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
According to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs , that starting job will come down to new veteran additions Cam Lewis and Xavier Woods, who have both gotten starting looks during the summer. Other safeties on the roster include Elijah Hicks and undrafted rookie Skyler Thomas.
QB Caleb Williams
QB Tyson Bagent
QB Case Keenum
RB D'Andre Swift
RB Kyle Monangai
RB Roschon Johnson
WR Rome Odunze
WR Luther Burden III
WR Kalif Raymond
WR Zavion Thomas
WR Jahdae Walker
TE Colston Loveland
TE Cole Kmet
TE Sam Roush
TE Hayden Large
OL Joe Thuney
OL Darnell Wright
OL Jonah Jackson
OL Garrett Bradbury
OL Ozzy Trapilo
OL Braxton Jones
OL Logan Jones
OL Jordan McFadden
OL Luke Newman
OL Theo Benedet
DL Montez Sweat
DL Grady Jarrett
DL Austin Booker
DL Dayo Odeyingbo
DL Jordan van den Berg
DL Neville Gallimore
DL Kentavius Street
DL Jayden Loving
DL Daniel Hardy
DL Jamree Kromah
LB T.J. Edwards
LB Devin Bush
LB D'Marco Jackson
LB Keyshaun Elliott
CB Jaylon Johnson
CB Tyrique Stevenson
CB Malik Muhammad
CB Clark Phillips III
CB Josh Blackwell
S Coby Bryant
S Dillon Thieneman
S Xavier Woods
S Cam Lewis
S Elijah Hicks
S Skyler Thomas
K Cairo Santos
P Tory Taylor
LS Beau Gardner
1
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
QB Caleb Williams
1
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
QB Caleb Williams
2
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
QB Tyson Bagent
3
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
QB Case Keenum
4
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
RB D'Andre Swift
5
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
RB Kyle Monangai
6
/53
Bears vs. Browns: Photos from Chicago's 34-10 preseason win
RB Roschon Johnson
7
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
WR Rome Odunze
8
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
WR Luther Burden III
9
/53
Chicago Bears training camp photos
WR Kalif Raymond
10
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
WR Zavion Thomas
11
/53
Bears vs. Bengals: Photos from Chicago's Week 2 preseason loss
WR Jahdae Walker
12
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
TE Colston Loveland
13
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
TE Cole Kmet
14
/53
Bears vs. Bengals: Photos from Chicago's Week 2 preseason loss
TE Sam Roush
15
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
TE Hayden Large
16
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Joe Thuney
17
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Darnell Wright
18
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Jonah Jackson
19
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Garrett Bradbury
20
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Ozzy Trapilo
21
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Braxton Jones
22
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Logan Jones
23
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Jordan McFadden
24
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Luke Newman
25
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
OL Theo Benedet
26
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Montez Sweat
27
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Grady Jarrett
28
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Austin Booker
29
/53
Bears vs. Bengals: Photos from Chicago's Week 2 preseason loss
DL Dayo Odeyingbo
30
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Jordan van den Berg
31
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Neville Gallimore
32
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Kentavius Street
33
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Jayden Loving
34
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Daniel Hardy
35
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
DL Jamree Kromah
36
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
LB T.J. Edwards
37
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
LB Devin Bush
38
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
LB D'Marco Jackson
39
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
LB Keyshaun Elliott
40
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
CB Jaylon Johnson
41
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
CB Tyrique Stevenson
42
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
CB Malik Muhammad
43
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
CB Clark Phillips III
44
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
CB Josh Blackwell
45
/53
Ben Johnson provides injury rehab update on Bears S Coby Bryant
S Coby Bryant
46
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
S Dillon Thieneman
47
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
S Xavier Woods
48
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
S Cam Lewis
49
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
S Elijah Hicks
50
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
S Skyler Thomas
51
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
K Cairo Santos
52
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
P Tory Taylor
53
/53
Chicago Bears 53-man roster for 2026 season
LS Beau Gardner
Lewis started training camp at nickel cornerback with Kyler Gordon sidelined, but he switched to safety when Bryant went down. Amid other safety deficiencies, the Bears brought in Woods to add a veteran presence to the room with starting experience.
With Gordon on injured reserve and missing the first four games of the season, Chicago also has a decision to make at nickel. Biggs noted that it could very well come down to whether or not the Bears feel confident with fourth-round rookie Malik Muhammad at nickel. If not, they'd likely turn to Lewis to fill that void, which would free up Woods to start at safety.
There are a lot of questions left to be answered ahead of Chicago's Week 1 opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13. And we might not know the answers until kickoff.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears insider shares latest on starting safety spot
