Chicago Bears training camp preview: 5 position battles to watch

The wait is over. The Bears will report to training camp Tuesday. Practice begins Wednesday. The NFL is back.

Until Week 1 arrives in September, the storylines will be centered on roster decisions. Who makes the team and who doesn’t? Who starts and who fills a backup spot?

Below are five position battles to watch as the Bears prepare for the 2023 season. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will have some decisions to make over the next six weeks.

1. Punt return: Velus Jones Jr. vs. Dante Pettis vs. Tyler Scott

The Bears began the 2022 season with rookie Velus Jones Jr. returning punts, but that ended quickly after two key fourth-quarter fumbles that arguably cost the Bears victories. The Bears demoted Jones from the punt return job and handed it to veteran receiver Dante Pettis. This spring, the Bears also worked in rookie receiver Tyler Scott, a fourth-round draft pick. Scott, interestingly, didn’t return punts in college but has experience as a kick returner and has blazing speed.

With a deeper wide receiver group this season (DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown will likely make the roster), whoever doesn’t win this job could be in danger of being cut when the Bears trim the roster to 53 players.

2. Defensive end

It’s not good when there’s too many options to list in the headline.

On paper, DeMarcus Walker and Trevis Gipson are the starting defensive ends. But during OTAs, the Bears deployed basically every combination possible with the first-team defense. Terrell Lewis and Rasheem Green saw significant reps. Second-year pro Dominique Robinson was further down the depth chart.

Plus, what if the Bears do add another edge rusher through free agency or a trade in the coming weeks? Last year, Poles made a flurry of moves days before training camp began. With several veteran edge rushers still on the free agent market, a similar last-minute move could be coming.

It feels as if reps truly are up for grabs. Walker likely will start because the Bears committed three years and $21 million to him, but everything after that is very much up in the air.

3. Cornerback: Tyrique Stevenson vs. Kindle Vildor

Through OTAs, Tyrique Stevenson appeared to have the upper edge here. Kindle Vildor was a significant contributor over the past two seasons, but the Bears drafted Stevenson with a second-round pick to challenge him.

Stevenson is the hard-hitter that Eberflus likes at cornerback. As an outside corner, he should eventually be an upgrade over Vildor. The question is if he’s ready to start right away? Vildor, a fifth-round pick in 2020, will have to fight hard to fend for his job.

4. Linebacker: Jack Sanborn vs. Noah Sewell

Jack Sanborn emerged as a viable starter after the Bears traded Roquan Smith last year. But with the Bears signing Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards in free agency, competition at linebacker just became a lot tougher. Sanborn will have to battle rookie fifth-round pick Noah Sewell for the third starting linebacker spot in the 4-3 defensive scheme.

Sanborn likely has a leg up, given what he showed late last season. But Sewell comes in as a prospect who some thought could’ve gone higher in the draft than he ultimately did. Sanborn missed the entire spring as he rehabbed the ankle injury that ended his 2022 season early.

5. Running back: Khalil Herbert vs. D’Onta Foreman

This is not a true position battle because both players, when healthy, likely will see touches. But will either Khalil Herbert or D’Onta Foreman emerge as the lead running back for the Bears in 2023? It’s possible they split time relatively evenly, but it’s also possible that one steals the show.

The Bears have said little other than that they want a solid, deep roster of running backs in today’s NFL. Rookie fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson also could have a say in the matter.

Watching how Herbert and Foreman compete during camp – and how they can differentiate themselves – will be fascinating to watch for a team that still wants to take a run-first approach.