There’s excitement in the air at Halas Hall, where the Bears will soon begin the start of training camp under first-time head coach Ben Johnson.

Johnson started with the Lions as an offensive quality control coach in 2019. He eventually worked his way up to offensive coordination in 2022 under head coach Dan Campbell. Now that Johnson has left Detroit, an intriguing matchup awaits the Bears at the start of the 2025 season.

After the Bears kick off the season with a divisional matchup at Soldier Field against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, they head to Detroit for a thrilling Week 2 matchup.

On the most recent episode of “The Chicago Football Show,” CBS Detroit’s Rachel Hopmayer shares her stance on the former Lions’ offensive coordinator returning to Detroit in a Week 2 matchup.

“It could be a trap game if I’m allowed to say that months out,” Hopmayer said on The Chicago Football Show. “These teams are reshaping new identities, retooling, I think is the most appropriate word here, and depending on how Week 1 goes, their confidence could be high, could be low … being that early on in the season, you only have so much to work with.

“When Ben Johnson walks into Ford Field, I expect boos. Fans did not like how he left, even if they loved what he did for them the last few years.”

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The Lions were bounced in the 2025 NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs in a 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders. Once the Lions were eliminated, multiple teams were looking to employ the former Lions play-caller as their head coach. Ultimately, Johnson chose to stay in the NFC North, and for most Lions fans, there’s speculation about the timing of how the season ended for the Lions and for Johnson’s departure.

“I don’t think anything he did was wrong. But, that’s going to regard on your reputation being interpreted differently, especially when that type of information comes out that fans will find a correlation between you losing to the Commanders and you taking an early interview,” Hopmayer said. “I don’t think that’s right, but regardless, the facts are the facts and the timeline is all these fans have to work with. … With that being said, I don’t expect a warm welcome for him.”

A lot of intrigue will be surrounding Johnson and the Lions once we get closer to the start of the season. Bears training camp begins July 22 and will be open to the public starting on July 25.