Bears and Ben Johnson Optimistic for 2026 Season
Second-year Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson took the podium at the annual NFL Combine to discuss the Bears, expectations for next season, various players and the Draft process.
On next season, tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden:
The good news about going into year two is you got a much better feel for the players on the roster and certainly the two guys that you mentioned are guys that we looked to target in the draft last year, and they’re going to be a big part of what we’re doing going forward. Neither one of them had a full off season with us because they were both coming off some injuries, you know, Colson had during the season, and then Luther got dinged up a little bit as we were training in the spring. But you know, we look forward to getting them through a full off season program and seeing where it goes from there.
On the Draft:
We got a vision. (General manager) Ryan (Poles) does a great job of stacking that board, him and his crew, and I was able to sit in with some of the scouts earlier there, and I think they’d do a great job bringing the information at the table.
I think our coaching staff has done a fantastic job evaluating the free agents that are out there. and now we’re starting to dive into the Draft guys. And so you know, it doesn’t really change anything from our process or our procedure, but it’s always exciting this time of year, and I know our’s going to do a great job job with that evaluation.
On evaluating the current Bears roster and last year’s team:
I think the challenging thing is because, like I said, it’s completely different than a year ago where you’re coming in with a blank slate, you really don’t know the personalities and you haven’t really, you appreciate them as what they put on tape, but not so much for how they interact day in and day out in the building. And so there’s certainly relationships that are formed. I’ll say that this is one of the closest groups I’ve ever been a part of, last year’s team, and that’s hard to generate. I wish there was some magic stick that you could just float on out there to make that happen. And yet, you know, we had a lot of high-character players that they came together. They wanted what was best for the team and for their buddies.
On new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing:
Drew doesn’t need my advice. Drew does a great job. He’s a dear friend of mine, and I know he’s going to knock it out of the park there in Detroit. And so I’m very, very happy for him. And that opportunity, there’s a ton of really good players there. There’s some coaches in that building that I care deeply about, so I think they’re in good hands.