The Chicagoland dance for a new Bears stadium could be heading for the legal mosh pit.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, via Sports Business Journal, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren recently sent a letter to new Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa regarding the condition of Soldier Field. The letter asks for documents that will “provide an overview of maintenance and capital spending.”
Warren, a lawyer, could be papering the record in an effort to eventually argue that the team’s lease has been breached. That could allow the Bears to leave Soldier Field before the arrangement expires in 2033.
If that’s the strategy, it points to the team prioritizing Arlington Heights over a lakefront stadium. If the Bears will be building a new stadium in Chicago, transferring the existing lease to a new stadium would be a no-brainer.
The Bears have been unable to get their plan for a lakefront stadium off the ground. They own the property in Arlington Heights at which a stadium would be constructed. In either location, the Bears will need to figure out how to finagle public funding. If not, they’ll have to decide whether to pay for it themselves.
That becomes more feasible if they can lure a second team to Chicago, doubling the number of annual home games.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said after the draft that he doesn’t know for sure what role any player will play, because every player will earn it.
“The moment the players got back into the building, call it three weeks ago now, it was going to be a competitive environment,” Johnson said. “There is no depth chart right now. If you want to play, you’ve got to go earn it. If you want a role, you’ve got to go earn it. They know that. So we were very straightforward and honest with them when they came into the building. I think all we did this weekend was we might have just turned up the notch just a couple of dials for certain people in the building. So that’s a good thing. That’s a healthy thing. That’s where you bring out the best, not only in your team, but in each individual.”
Johnson said that for offensive playmakers, the way to separate themselves during offseason work is to show that they can contribute even when they aren’t getting the ball.
“We have a lot of weapons,” Johnson said. “And so how are you going to run your route when you might not be number one in the progression? How are you going to block for your teammate when he has the ball? Because if you do those things right, then as a coaching staff, we’re going to want to get you the ball a little bit more. So it all ties together. It all goes hand in hand and that’s the beauty behind it.”
Realistically, some starting jobs have already been determined, starting with Caleb Williams, who will be the starting quarterback as long as he’s healthy. But Johnson is trying to instill a culture of competition in Chicago, and he doesn’t want any player taking his playing time for granted.
In 2023, the Lions drafted tight end Sam LaPorta and he immediately became one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends in offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s offense. Now Johnson is head coach of the Bears, and he thinks he just found a tight end who is a lot like LaPorta, on the field and off.
The Bears took tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick on Thursday night, and Johnson thinks he has another tight end who can do the same things for his team that LaPorta did.
“I love the tape. I love everything about the tape, but when you get to know him as a man, it’s really intriguing,” Johnson said. “It’s who we want to be going forward, in my opinion. He stands for high football character, IQ, intelligence, but he’s a great teammate. When we went to the University of Michigan, everybody was raving about him to see how he conducted himself, not only amongst his teammates, but walking through the building and interacting with equipment staff and video staff. You could tell that he was so well-respected. His story’s a little bit unique, coming from small town Idaho, and yet going to the big stage like he did, he didn’t bat an eye. And so, yeah, I do see a lot of comparisons to LaPorta, but that’s not just on the field. That was off the field as well, because with LaPorta, the stage was never too big or too bright. I felt that same thing with Colston the first time I met him. He doesn’t bat an eye. He performs at a high level. And as we talk about where we’re going as an organization, and we’re going to be playing in these big games with the bright lights, we need guys that are going to rise up to the occasion, and he’s going to do that for us.”
The Bears have added a wealth of talent to their offense this offseason, and Johnson should have the pieces in place to build a strong offense in Chicago, just like he did in Detroit.
The Ben Johnson era is officially underway in Chicago. After selecting QB Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears went 5-12 last season, firing HC Matt Eberflus after a debacle of a loss on Thanksgiving. Chicago landed Johnson, who was the hottest name on the market, to take charge with the aim of turning Williams into an elite NFL quarterback.
Chicago gave up a league-high 68 sacks last season, an issue they addressed early in free agency. The Bears brought in three new expected starters on the OL, signing Jonah Jackson, Joe Thuney and Drew Dalman. If they want to continue to add to the line, LSU’s Will Campbell is the top lineman in the draft and could be available when the Bears pick at No. 10. The Bears also have an additional second-round pick this year, which they received from Carolina in the trade for D.J. Moore.
Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Draft Picks
Round 1: No. 10 - Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Round 2: No. 39 (from CAR) - Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
Round 2: No. 56 (from MIN via HOU & BUF) - Ozzy Trapilo, T, Boston College
Round 2: No. 62 (from BUF) - Shemar Turner, DT, Texas A&M
Round 4: No. 132 (from BUF) - Ruben Hyppolite II, LB, Maryland
Round 5: No. 169 (Compensatory, from BUF) - Zah Frazier, CB, Texas-San Antonio
Round 6: No. 195 (from PIT via LAR) - Luke Newman, G, Michigan State
Round 7: No. 233 (from CIN) - Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers
Check out 2025 NFL Draft picks for other teams in the NFC North:
Minnesota Vikings 2025 NFL Draft picks
Green Bay Packers 2025 NFL Draft picks
Detroit Lions 2025 NFL Draft picks
Click here to see the entire 2025 NFL Draft order. Coverage of the latest news from around the NFL is available all year round from Pro Football Talk on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube Channel.
For the full slate of NFL Draft content from across NBC Sports, click here.
The Bills have made a move to bring in a defensive player.
Buffalo traded No. 132 and No. 169 to Chicago in exchange for No. 109.
The Bills turned in the card to select defensive tackle Deone Walker out of Kentucky.
Walker, 21, became a starter in his final year with the program. He recorded 39 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks in 2024. He also had a pair of forced fumbles and two passes defensed last season.
In all, Walker recorded 6.5 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss in his 56 career games.
The Bills have acquired the No. 41 pick from the Bears in a swap of several selections.
Buffalo has chosen defensive tackle T.J. Sanders out of South Carolina.
Sanders was a two-year starter at South Carolina. He recorded 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in 2023 before tallying 4.0 sacks with 7.0 tackles for loss in 2024.
Buffalo traded No. 56, No. 62, and No. 109 to Chicago in exchange for No. 41, No. 72, and No. 240.
The final pick traded to the Bears as part of the Bryce Young trade has been used.
The Bears selected wide receiver Luther Burden III with the 39th overall pick on Friday night. He joins tight end Colston Loveland as rookie additions to the offense ahead of Ben Johnson’s first year as their head coach.
Carolina traded wide receiver DJ Moore, their 2023 and 2024 first-round picks, and their 2023 and 2025 second-round picks to the Bears in order to move up to the first overall pick in 2023. The 2024 first-rounder turned out to be the first overall pick, which the Bears used to take quarterback Caleb Williams. They also added tackle Darnell Wright and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson with picks they received in that deal.
Burden had 61 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns last season. He joins Moore and 2024 first-rounder Rome Odunze in the Bears receiving corps.
The first tight end is off the board at No. 10 overall in 2025.
The Bears have selected Colston Loveland out of Michigan with their first-round pick.
Loveland, 21, was a CFP National Champion with Michigan to cap the 2023 season. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2023 and second-team all-conference selection in 2024.
In 2023, he caught 45 passes for 649 yards with four touchdowns in 15 games. He caught 56 passes for 582 yards with five touchdowns in 2024, despite missing three games with a shoulder injury.
Loveland caught 117 passes for 1,466 yards with 11 touchdowns in 39 total games for Michigan.
He will now become a new weapon for head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams in the pros.
The guy who does our mock draft has the Steelers taking Michigan tight end Colston Loveland at No. 21. That’s not going to happen. Because they likely won’t have the chance to get him.
Teams are divided, we’re told, on whether Penn State’s Tyler Warren or Loveland is the top tight end. Some have Warren at No. 1, others have Loveland.
The slight lean is toward Warren.
The teams to watch when it comes to tight end are the Jets at No. 7, the Bears at No. 10, and the Colts at No. 14. It’s possible both Warren and Loveland will go to two of those three teams.
The Jets are specifically intriguing because, last year, they opted for tackle Olu Fashanu at No. 11, passing over superstar tight end Brock Bowers, who landed two spots later with the Raiders. This year, will they go with another tackle in lieu of Warren or Loveland?
Much of that will depend, frankly, on whether and to what extent owner Woody Johnson is telling his football people, “You know, we passed on Bowers last year.” That raises the stakes on passing on another tight end who could become an instant high-end contributor.
The Bears will trade up to the No. 5 overall pick in the draft to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, if the betting markets are to be believed.
At multiple sports books, the Bears are now favored to take Jeanty — and Jeanty is still favored to go off the board at No. 5 overall. That would require a trade between the Bears, who currently own the No. 10 pick, and the Jaguars, who currently own the No. 5 pick.
There have been no reports about the Bears and Jaguars working on a trade, but often when betting odds shift dramatically, that’s a sign that someone knows something.
Jeanty is the best running back prospect in this year’s NFL draft, and new Bears coach Ben Johnson would love to add a running back who can do in his offense what Jahmyr Gibbs did in his offense in Detroit after the Lions drafted Gibbs in 2023. At a time when the value of running backs in the NFL is starting to be reconsidered, Jeanty could be a hot commodity tonight.
