Before the 2024 season, the Bears sought a veteran safety to guide the young players on then-coach Matt Eberflus' defense. In a move that every Bears fan loves at any time, the team poached a player from the Packers to fill that need, one that some rival fans thought the team was giving up on too quickly after only one season in Green Bay.
But Jonathan Owens' first season in Chicago hardly jumped off the page. While he had a career-high two fumble recoveries and was one of eight Bears defenders with at least that many, he was a distant eighth in tackles with 49, down from ranking third with 84 on a playoff Packers team the year before.
This was despite playing every game for the third year in a row. To be fair, though, some of that could be chalked up to Owens' number of starts diminishing from 11 to five. Plus, with Eberflus now gone, whatever strategy he had for using him is irrelevant as the Bears look to move past a disappointing 2024.
Jonathan Owens' Future in Chicago Could Be in Jeopardy
Owens is now in the second year of a two-year, $1.925 million contract. Having just turned 30, his time could be running out not only to stick around with the Bears beyond 2025 but also in the NFL in general.
What Owens has going for him right now is his ability to stay on the field. If he has a fourth straight year without missing a game, someone certainly will take a chance on him for 2026 because every team needs all the healthy bodies it can get.
It's too early to tell whether Owens' future beyond this season will be with the Bears. Until we see what Ben Johnson has planned for his defensive personnel in games, no amount of training camp reports will be able to tell the whole picture. The preseason won't tell us anything other than the fact that Owens still is in Chicago.
The obvious way to ensure his NFL future is to play well this season, but if he does that, his salary demands will increase, and will the Bears want to take a chance on paying more money to a player who will be 31 next season, even if he still doesn't miss any games? It's a decision Ryan Poles will have to make.
But Owens has faced pressure to succeed before and come through. If he can debut in the NFL at 24 after going undrafted out of Missouri Western and stick around this long, who's to say he can't do it again?