Chicago Bears Roster 2020 Chicago Bears Roster

Top 3 Bears Roster Questions of 2019-2020

Will the Bears Defense Be Just as Elite as Last Season?

The Bears defense was an absolute juggernaut last year, shutting down almost everyone they played. They were talented before the Khalil Mack trade, but adding him to their squad put them on a whole new level of dominance. Although they lost a couple pieces in free agency, they also gained some new pieces, and the majority of their defensive core remains intact. Still, there’s reason to think they might take a step back this season. For one, they lost defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who became the Broncos head coach. This is a pretty big blow, as Fangio was the mastermind of the Bears defensive scheme and was a veteran coach that had the respect of his players. Replacing him is easier said than done. It’s also likely that the Bears won’t be able to replicate the amount of turnovers they forced last year. Takeaways are often a volatile stat that lacks consistency, and it’s probable that the numbers of takeaways the Bears force this year will trend back to the league average. The Bears defense will likely still be elite, but it’s hard to see them being as historically dominant as they were last year.

Can Mitch Trubisky Take Another Step Forward?

Similar to his good friend Jared Goff, Trubisky took a big leap forward his sophomore season under better coaching, after struggling his rookie season. With another year in Nagy’s system, there’s hope that he can be better even better next year. Something that got lost in all the hype around the Bears last season was that their offense wasn’t actually that good, ranking just 21st in total yards. If the Bears want to hit a new level, their offense will need to get on the same level as their defense. To do that, Trubisky must take the next step from solid starter to star. Trubisky has a pretty solid supporting cast, so there really isn’t an excuse for him to stagnate this season. He was drafted 2nd overall for a reason, and it’s time he starts playing up to his potential as a star player.

Who’s Their New Kicker Going Forward?

For all of last season, the Bears only had one critical, major weakness. That was their kicker, Cody Parkey, and he arguably ended up costing the Bears their season with his missed field goal at the end of the wild card game. He was unceremoniously cut shortly after, and the Bears have been looking to find a replacement since. It wasn’t a great sign when the Bears entered the minicamps with 3 kickers, and even though that number has been cut down to 2, that still isn’t ideal. Anytime a team has more than 1 kicker on their roster, it’s unlikely it’s for a good reason. Right now, it appears that the kicking battle is coming between Eddy Pineiro and Elliot Fry. Regardless of who they choose, the decision must be made within a month (before the season begins) and it has to be someone they’re comfortable and confident in going forward. A second straight season that ends in a missed field goal would be a nightmare.