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4 Chicago Bears players to watch in preseason finale vs. Chiefs

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 10:04 AM ET

Training camp is officially over for the Chicago Bears. Their final preseason game is on Friday at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Bears will take on the Kansas City Chiefs. After that, all NFL teams must begin making roster cuts to get down to the regular season limit of 53 players.

That means several guys will get one last chance on Friday night to prove they deserve a roster spot with the Bears for the 2025 season. It's a bitter fight to crack an NFL roster, and while the outcome of preseason games doesn't matter to the team, it matters a whole heck of a lot to these players. Each and every snap they get in these exhibition matches could be the dif ference between the active roster and the practice squad.

With that in mind, here's four guys for Bears fans to keep a close eye on during the game.

1. Caleb Williams

Williams is not one of those fringe roster players, of course, but he needs a good performance just as badly for a different reason. Sunday's 38-0 romp over the Buffalo Bills was great for Williams' confidence and gave the Bears some momentum as the regular season approaches, but putting up a dud against Kansas City's starters on Friday would undo all that goodwill.

He doesn't need to be perfect, but Williams should run the offense efficiently and produce at least one touchdown before his night is over. Anything less than that will leave the fans and analysts with major question marks about whether Williams is ready to run head coach Ben Johnson's offense in a regular-season setting.

2. Theo Benedet

Quarterback Tyson Bagent, who just signed a contract extension with the Bears , may not be the only underdog story for the Bears anymore. Benedet, a 2024 undrafted rookie from Canada, has made waves this training camp when he burst into the starting left tackle position battle. He appears to have outlasted rookie Ozzy Trapilo and second-year Kiran Amegadjie, leaving the job up to either him or the incumbent Braxton Jones.

By all accounts, Jones is going to be the starting left tackle in Week 1. But Benedet has been putting together some excellent tape for the coaches to evaluate. One more strong showing against the Chiefs could make them think hard about who their starter should be.

3. Ian Wheeler

A rash of injuries has hit the Bears at running back, which was already their weakest position group. This leaves an opening for one of 2024 training camp's fan-favorites, Ian Wheeler. A season-ending injury crushed his dreams of making the roster last year, but Wheeler has returned in 2025 and has made an excellent case for himsel f to be the RB3 behind D'Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai.

While his yards per carry average is just okay at 3.8, it's his running style that has most impressed the fans, bouncing off of tacklers and picking up tough yards after contact. If he can put together a solid game against the Chiefs, it will be very tough for the coaches to find a reason to cut him.

4. Dominique Robinson

To be honest, I'm surprised Robinson is still on the team at this point. The fourth-year player has been a total non-factor over the past three seasons that I expected the new coaching staff to send him packing. But Robinson is still here and even earned a show of support from Ben Johnson earlier in the offseason.

The Bears remain thin at defensive end, and preseason standout Austin Booker's health is still unknown at this time after leaving the Bills game early with an injury. There's an opportunity here for Robinson to earn a roster spot, but he's going to need a big game on Friday to pull it off.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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