The Chicago Bears' 2026 offseason is in the books as OTAs begin and focus shifts towards the summer ahead. While there could still be upcoming additions for the most part, the impactful moves have been made throughout the league and left a clear picture of the upcoming divisional races. For the Bears, this has been the case with Chicago putting together a year that keeps the team atop the NFC North as the rest of their rivals have left every reason to believe they are firmly behind Chicago heading closer to the upcoming season.
With this in mind, let's look at each of the trio of division rivals and point out moves or losses that point to the unavoidable of the Bears remaining in the driver's seat in the division. Starting with a team that has done nothing but push itself further backwards by refusing to give up on an obvious lost cause.
1. Minesota Vikings
The Vikings are expected to have a real quarterback competition between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray. In truth, this is all the Bears need to see to understand this isn't a serious organization lacking the needed leader to be a true threat to push Chicago in the division. Even if Murray were to win the starting role, the quarterback is often injured and hasn't been a viable starting option due to this, as well as his own inconsistencies.
Add in the fact that there were very few exciting offseason additions, and there simply isn't any reason to view the Vikings as anything close to a threat. It was an underwhelming offseason that helped push the Bears even further in front of a team that appears to be moving in the wrong direction.
2. Green Bay Packers
The reasons why the Bears appear to be favored over the Packers after the 2026 offseason is the fact that Green Bay didn't make one splashy signing of note. The team lost a lot of pass-rushing depth and parted ways with playmakers Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. Moves haven't been made to replace either receiver, while the future of Josh Jacobs is in question as well due to off-the-field legal issues the rusher is facing.
On top of all of this, your star defender isn't expected to be ready for the regular season with Micah Parsons working his way back from an ACL injury. Green Bay is coming off a playoff collapse to Chicago and simply hasn't put together any moves that signal reason to believe they have surpassed the defending NFC North champs.
3. Detroit Lions
Detroit has Chicago's number in the 2026 season and appears to be the biggest threat to the Bears continuing their division dominance. However, a bit of this is offset by the fact that Detroit lost David Montgomery, taking away a fearsome two-headed backfield monster, and the franchise made offensive coaching changes after a season full of inconsistency.
There are also questions about the pass rush after Aidan Hutchinson, with the team lacking a clear secondary threat. All of this combines to give Chicago an edge while still having a healthy level of respect for the biggest threat in the division.
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