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Chicago Bears defensive line Grady Jarrett works out with teammates during practice at the team’s NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Lake Forest, Ill.<\/p>\n
Nam Y. Huh\/AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh<\/p>\n
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen talks to media at a news conference during an NFL football training camp practice, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Lake Forest, Ill.<\/p>\n
Nam Y. Huh\/AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh<\/p>\n
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) \u2014 During a Thursday training camp practice when Caleb Williams had difficulty finding an incompletion, the Chicago Bears also had to face the downside.<\/p>\n
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As great as their quarterback\u2019s accuracy looked to all points on the field during the scrimmage, he threw the passes against their first-team secondary. That’s supposed to be their defensive strength.<\/p>\n
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The Bears defense struggled mightily much of last year at stopping the run, rushing the passer and staying healthy, but the one thing it could do was intercept passes. Now, a rebuilt secondary might need time to pull together, and it’s questionable whether it actually improved at rushing the passer or stopping the run. It may need another big takeaway year like last season when it picked off 23 passes and recovered 10 fumbles.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to live it every day,\u201d defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said about takeaways. \u201cYou get the things that you emphasize. So that\u2019s part of the culture of our defense, that runs through the vein of our defense and we have to practice that way every single day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has to be the mindset. That doesn\u2019t guarantee anything, but if you don\u2019t have that mindset, then they\u2019re not coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the outset of practices, the Bears have two different safeties in veteran Coby Bryant and rookie Dillon Thieneman, and they have shuffled through three or four players at nickel cornerback with Kyler Gordon out because of a calf muscle injury.<\/p>\n
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Bryant, the former Seattle Seahawks safety, brings speed and another asset to their secondary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing I want to do is be known for energy,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that I always want to be known for. I feel like it can be contagious and like I said, just bring other guys along with me as well. That\u2019s something I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if they do manage to pull together the secondary and challenge last year\u2019s takeaway totals, they haven\u2019t improved pass rush personnel. They started camp with top pass rusher Montez Sweat out because of illness, but he quickly recovered in time to practice Thursday. The surprise they\u2019ve had is defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo\u2019s availability after his season ended with an Achilles tendon tear in early November.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s super impressive how hard he\u2019s fought back to come back and come and be able to start off training camp,\u201d defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. \u201cHad a super tough injury to come back from. Having walked that road before I know the mental toll it does take on you. I\u2019m super proud of him being back ready for training camp and I\u2019m excited for the best things to come for him.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI mean, he\u2019s a grinder. He works every day to put his best foot forward. He\u2019s going to help us. We\u2019re going to need him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, Odeyingbo had only one sack in his first Bears season before his midseason injury. It\u2019s why no one would be surprised to see general manager Ryan Poles add a free agent pass rusher or trade for one to complement Sweat and blossoming edge Austin Booker.<\/p>\n
Allen says they\u2019ll get better as pass rushers another way.<\/p>\n
\u201cMechanics, we\u2019re looking for pass rush mechanics,\u201d Allen said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to evaluate a lot of stuff when you\u2019re practicing in underwear. So, we\u2019ll be able to have a better feel of what we got in the run game, what we have in the passing game when we start putting on the pads. That\u2019s where you really kind of determine what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In a few days they\u2019ll have pads on and will be looking for tackles Gervon Dexter and Jarrett and linebacker addition Devin Bush to improve a defense ranked 27th stopping the run in 2025. Like Bryant, Bush was a player they brought in as a free agent for one main reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of the things that we\u2019ve looked at is we\u2019re trying to improve our team speed, and I think he\u2019s a guy that can do that for us,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n
Having cornerback Jaylon Johnson back healthy after an injury-plagued 2025 and the return of T.J. Edwards from a season-ending broken leg later in camp should further improve personnel, but overall problems with personnel on the defensive line and new players in the secondary could persist until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s problems stopping the pass were an example.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe guys that we\u2019ve got on the field right now are super, highly talented, play a lot of good football and are uniquely blessed with lot of speed and the ability to cover guys at another level and also be good rushers to help us up front as well,\u201d Jarrett said. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to be a unit that works really well together.”<\/p>\n