Top performers from the Chicago Bears' preseason finale vs. Tennessee
Bears roster cuts: A look at Bears' position battles coming down to the wire
The Bears need to submit their 53-man roster on Sunday. They'll need to cut down their camp roster to get there. Anthony Herron and Cassie Carlson look at the roster battles that are coming down to the wire.
The Chicago Bears started with a bang on Saturday, and played some gritty football to end it.
Most importantly, the Bears' 2026 NFL Draft Class was a big part of that.
Here are our top performers from the Bears' preseason finale against the Titans.
Zavion Thomas
Let’s start with the only blemish on his evening was a fumble on a botched handoff from Tyson Bagent.
After that, it’s easy to see why Thomas was taken with a third-round pick.
Bagent hit Thomas for a 97-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game for the Bears. Thomas made a nifty double move, got open and raced to the end zone. That showed off his 4.28 speed.
He also had a 39-yard punt return that brought the Bears to the cusp of the Titans’ red zone.
Thomas caught all five passes going his way for 140 yards and a touchdown. That’s an exclamation mark for Thomas to end his first NFL training camp.
He’s solidified his spot as a weapon for Ben Johnson’s offense for the future.
Tyson Bagent
The Bears’ have held strong that Bagent is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the NFL. Saturday felt like a little validation of those words.
Bagent completed 16 of his 17 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He was in command. He was poised. He was dialing up darts.
The Bears have to feel good about where Bagent is at. He’s in Year 2 of the Bears’ offense and is thriving in moments he needs to.
Sure, the Titans’ defense he faced had players that won’t be on an NFL roster relatively soon. But, Bagent is expected to carve up defenses in these situations.
Bagent did that.
Terell Smith
Earlier this week, FOX Chicago put out a 53-man roster projection where Smith was one of the odd men out in the defensive back room.
On Saturday, he might have turned a few heads back into his corner.
Smith had two impressive pass break ups against the Titans. He almost had an interception on his second pass break up. There was solid recognition, solid closing speed and the ability to finish the play.
It was a display of the talent the Bears saw in Smith when he played significant snaps in 2024 before missing the entire 2025 season with a torn patellar tendon.
Smith has also missed time with injuries in training camp. That lack of availability hurts his case, but Saturday was a chance for him to prove he’s now healthy.
Time will tell if Smith did enough to retain a roster spot in 2026. But, he shined in the right way after Donate Manning played with the first-team defense in the last two weeks over Smith.
Jordan van den Berg
There was a two-play stretch where van den Berg was showing off how impressive he was.
Jamree Kromah sacked Titans quarterback Hendon Hooker late in the third quarter. That play doesn’t happen unless van den Berg pressures Hooker to step up into the pocket and right into the rushing lane Kromah had.
On the very next play, van den Berg pressured Hooker with a bull rush right up the middle of the offensive line. That allowed Jayden Loving to collapse the pocket and get credited with a sack and a forced fumble on Hooker.
The Bears didn’t recover that fumble.
Van den Berg still made the plays happen with a relentless motor, his athleticism and strength. All three things the Bears want to see from their defensive tackles.
The Source: Bears' top performers were selected by FOX Chicago's Chris Kwiecinski, who observed the game.