The Chicago Bears quickly pivoted to signing veteran safety Xavier Woods when they found out the timetable for a Coby Bryant injury. So, the expectation was that he could come in and start right away.
While Woods has hardly been with the team for a week, he has already been thrown in with the first team, and according to head coach Ben Johnson, he is already exceeding expectations.
Ben Johnson on S Xavier Woods: "He's a pro. You can see he's got that approach about him. ... He's really taken to the system. You throw him in there with the 1s and we're not missing a beat back there."
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 13, 2026
Chicago Bears Are High On Xavier Woods Entering 2026 Season
As Johnson notes, the thing that stands out most for Woods is his professionalism. That is what the Bears needed on the back end. Woods has 121 career starts and has been active for 134 games in his career. He also has 8,143 snaps on defense entering his tenth year in the NFL.
Considering Woods is on his fifth team in the NFL and his third in as many years, it is clear that he knows how to come in, absorb a defense, and start on the fly.
The addition is obviously not quite as impactful as Bryant would have been. Woods will be 31 years old this season and is coming off a season where he missed six games due to injury.
So, he is not quite the savior for everything. However, his veteran presence will be immensely helpful for rookie Dillon Thieneman, who will be starting next to him. The plan is for the rookie to take over for some of the physical issues that Woods has, while Woods carries Thieneman mentally.
The move also allows Cam Lewis to stick in the slot without having to start at safety. So, it ends up having multiple layers that are significant to the Bears' success.
The move can be reminiscent of the team trading for Garrett Bradbury once they learned about the retirement of veteran Drew Dalman. The Bears did not panic and quickly added a player with starting experience.
Bradbury has hit the ground running for the Bears, and while they drafted Logan Jones in the second round, it does not appear as though he is pushing the veteran to start right now. The hope is that the Bears can have a similar response to the Bryant injury.
They were able to sign a veteran safety who came in right away and was able to hold things down. If that is the case, it could save the Bears' season.
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