After an explosive offseason, the 2023 Chicago Bears season has all kinds of potential. It’s difficult to fully build a Bears season preview because they might have the biggest difference between their ceiling and floor of any NFL team. The front office has done everything they can to ensure that if they catch a break, they can ride that all the way to the NFL playoffs.

Everything You Need Ahead of the Chicago Bears 2023 NFL Season

The Bears entered the offseason with an extraordinary amount of cap space, in part because of the benefits from having a rookie QB, and used it to aggressively revamp the team, especially on defense.

The Bears had a number of needs — WR, OL, RB, TE, DT, EDGE, LB, and CB — and, despite essentially needing upgrades across the entire roster, were able to attack most of those needs in one offseason. That resulted in an enormous roster churn, which you can check out below.

Bears Roster Changes

• Players Signed/Claimed
  • QB Phillip Walker
  • RB D’Onta Foreman
  • RB Travis Homer
  • WR Daurice Fountain
  • WR Joe Reed
  • TE Robert Tonyan
  • G Nate Davis
  • EDGE Rasheem Green
  • EDGE DeMarcus Walker
  • DT Andrew Billings
  • LB Tremaine Edmunds
  • LB T.J. Edwards
  • LB Dylan Cole
  • P Ryan Anderson
• Players Acquired via Trade
  • WR DJ Moore
• Players Drafted
  • RT Darnell Wright
  • DT Gervon Dexter
  • CB Tyrique Stevenson
  • DT Zacch Pickens
  • RB Roschon Johnson
  • WR Tyler Scott
  • LB Noah Sewell
  • CB Terell Smith
  • DT Travis Bell
  • S Kendall Williamson

• Players Lost
  • QB Trevor Siemian
  • DT Gerri Green
  • CB Harrison Hand
  • EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad
  • EDGE Andre Anthony
  • QB Tim Boyle
  • RB David Montgomery
  • RB Darrynton Evans
  • WR Byron Pringle
  • WR N’Keal Harry
  • TE Ryan Griffin
  • TE/FB Trevon Wesco
  • C Chris Mustipher
  • G Dakota Dozier
  • G Michael Schofield
  • RT Riley Reiff
  • DT Angelo Blackson
  • DT Mike Pennel
  • DT Armon Watts
  • LB Nicholas Morrow
  • LB Matthew Adams
  • LB Elijah Lee
  • LB Javin White
  • LB Joe Thomas
  • CB Breon Borders
  • S DeAndre Houston-Carson
  • S Dane Cruikshank

The free agent signings of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards were an emphatic statement that the Bears were ready to immediately compete in an uncertain NFC North. Trading for DJ Moore in the offseason, along with a bevy of picks from No. 1 overall was an inspired move to bring in key talent to help develop Justin Fields. A strong draft class fulfilling several key positional needs might have helped set Chicago up for the long run.

The biggest losses are David Montgomery and Riley Reiff, which is a good place to be. Reiff is on the back end of his career and cannot provide the stability at right tackle he once was able to. The Bears replaced him with Darnell Wright, which has the opportunity to be an immediate upgrade, much less a long-term one.

Montgomery is a bigger concern, but it’s difficult to bet on the viability of running backs past their first contract. Replacing him with D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson was a smart move.

Bears Coaching Staff in 2023

• Head Coach: Matt Eberflus
• Offensive Coordinator: Luke Getsy
  • Quarterbacks: Andrew Janocko
  • Offensive Pass Game Coordinator/Receivers: Tyke Tolbert
  • Assistant Quarterbacks and Receivers: Omar Young
  • Tight Ends: Jim Dray
  • Assistant Tight Ends: Tim Zetts
  • Running Backs: David Walker
  • Offensive Line: Chris Morgan
  • Assistant Offensive Line: Luke Steckel
  • Offensive Quality Control: Zach Cable
• Defensive Coordinator: Alan Williams
  • Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks: Jon Hoke
  • Safeties: Andre Curtis
  • Assistant DBs: David Overstreet II
  • Linebackers: Dave Borgonzi
  • Defensive Line: Travis Smith
  • Assistant DL: Justin Hinds
  • Defensive Quality Control: Kevin Koch
• Special Teams Coordinator: Richard Hightower
  • Assistant Special Teams: Carlos Polk
  • Strength and Conditioning: Jim Arthur
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Noble Landry
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Pierre Ngo
  • Player Engagement/Strength and Conditioning: Isaiah Harris

Predicting the Chicago Bears Depth Chart

• QB: Justin Fields, P.J. Walker, Nathan Peterman, Tyson Bagent
• WR: DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Velus Jones Jr., Tyler Scott, Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis
• RB: D’Onta Foreman, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer
• FB: Khari Blasingame
• TE: Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Chase Allen, Jake Tonges
• LT: Braxton Jones, Larry Borom
• LG: Teven Jenkins, Ja’Tyre Carter
• C: Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick
• RG: Nate Davis, Doug Kramer, Alex Leatherwood
• RT: Darnell Wright, Kellen Diesch
• L EDGE: Demarcus Walker, Rasheem Green
• NT: Andrew Billings, Zacch Pickens
• DT: Justin Jones, Gervon Dexter
• R EDGE: Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson
• WLB: T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell
• MLB: Tremaine Edmunds, DeMarquis Gates
• SLB: Jack Sanborn, Dylan Cole
• RCB: Tyrique Stevenson, Kindle Vildor
• LCB: Jaylon Johnson, Terell Smith, Jaylon Jones
• NCB: Kyler Gordon
• SS: Jaquan Brisker, Kendall Williamson
• FS: Eddie Jackson, Eli Hicks

2022 Results and Standings

The Bears earned the first overall pick in the NFL Draft after a 3-14 season, finishing fourth in the NFC North, and dead last in the NFL standings. Chicago ranked 23rd in points scored and 32nd in points allowed. They started off the season strong with a win against the 49ers in monsoon conditions and a Week 3 win against the Houston Texans to pull to a 2-1 record. They lost their winning record in Week 4 and never gained it back.

A lone win against the New England Patriots in Week 7 didn’t provide much hope, and the Bears couldn’t get in many close games throughout the season, with the few close losses coming against the Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and a crippled Miami Dolphins.

2023 Power Ranking and Season Outlook

Pro Football Network’s 2023 Power Rankings place the Chicago Bears 22nd overall, with the incredible investments made on both sides of the ball responsible for their relatively optimistic ranking. While this would require further development from Fields, adding a high-level receiver, improving the offensive line, and creating a potentially top-three linebacker unit helps in a big way.

In addition to needing more from Fields himself, concerns remain along the offensive line and receiving corps despite their investments there. In addition to that, the Bears haven’t done much about their defensive line. The secondary has enormous potential, but those young players will have to make good on the confidence Chicago has in them.