Training camp is always a time for hope. This time for the Chicago Bears, there’s actual evidence to fuel it.Coming off a division title, an 11-6 record, a thrilling playoff win over the rival Packers and a crushing overtime playoff loss to the Rams, the Bears are going to be a hot-button topic over the next six weeks. Are they overrated? Will they regress? They can’t have so many late-game comebacks, but what about the close games they didn’t win? They lost too many guys on defense, but what if Caleb Williams takes another leap?Williams and coach Ben Johnson have provided Bears fans with two pretty big reasons for optimism.Veterans report to Halas Hall on Tuesday, and the team takes the field Wednesday for the first practices of 2026 training camp, the most highly anticipated Bears camp since at least 2019. Here are 10 storylines we’ll be watching.Is Luther Burden ready to go 'nuclear' for Chicago Bears?Robert Mays1. Caleb Williams in Year 2 under Ben JohnsonIn 2009, Jay Cutler was like a rock star in Chicago. That’s nothing like the hype for Williams: Madden NFL 27 cover, winner of a playoff game, architect of incredible comebacks. Now it’s time to see how much he can ascend for an encore. It can be easy to forget how inconsistent Williams and the offense were last summer. Pre-snap penalties marred camp practices. The offense rarely got into a rhythm.By Week 3, that was old news, and while the passing offense wasn’t perfect — especially in the first half of games — it was one of the best offenses this city has seen, and Williams did things in the fourth quarter no one has seen. In training camp, how smooth will things look? What wrinkles will defensive coordinator Dennis Allen throw at Williams? How will Williams handle the ups and downs that come with hot August practices? How often can the offense sustain drives?We learned last year that training camp isn’t always a harbinger of what’s to come, but we’ll all be watching to see where Williams has improved and try to project what that can mean in the regular season. As always, the quarterback is storyline No. 1, but finally for Bears fans, it’s for exciting reasons.2. Second-year breakoutsWe do it every summer. “This player showed some flashes as a rookie, and now with a full NFL offseason, watch out.” Rarely, though, do those players produce as effectively as tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III did late last season. From Weeks 14-18, Loveland and Burden both ranked in the top 18 in the league in receiving yards. They ranked 1-2 among rookies in that stretch, both proving to be incredibly difficult to cover.Johnson set the standard already by saying he’s buying Burden stock. Loveland missed out on a regular spring and summer last year as he recovered from an injury. Burden also missed a bunch of time in training camp. They’re healthy, they’re gifted and they have a coach scheming up ways to get them the ball. How dominant can they be this summer?3. Rome on the reboundThe Burden hype has nearly overshadowed Rome Odunze, who seemed prime for that Year 2 breakout before a foot injury last season. He also had five drops, counting the playoffs.“Without going into details, those are plays he knows he can make, and let’s make them,” wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle-El said in May. “There are different ways that we can make these plays. You go back and you pull that film (from college) and match it up with the plays that he has made in the NFL as it relates to those 50/50 balls or what have you. The one thing you get is that the confidence is restored; let’s go do it from that standpoint.”Odunze said he has to get acclimated to his “new normal” when it comes to the bone structure in his foot. That will be top of mind if anything looks off, but he had a strong spring and has the skill set to be the No. 1 receiver. There’s a lot of money at stake, too, if he can take off.4. Will there be a center battle?After the surprise retirement of center Drew Dalman, general manager Ryan Poles acted quickly to trade for Garrett Bradbury, who played in the Super Bowl in February and has 88 starts in his career. But then there’s second-rounder Logan Jones. The conventional ideal situation is Bradbury holds down the spot formidably and Jones is ready to take over in 2027, but Iowa offensive linemen tend not to need a ton of NFL reps to be ready to go. Can Jones create a legit competition in camp?The Bears hope Braxton Jones will leave no doubt that he should be the starting left tackle in camp this summer. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)5. Braxton locking down the blind sideThis was a storyline a year ago, as Braxton Jones entered what turned into a four-player competition at left tackle. He ultimately won it heading into opening day, only to lose it in Week 4 before returning to injured reserve later in the season. Ozzy Trapilo’s patellar tendon injury reopened the door to Jones, who was the starter throughout OTAs and minicamp. He’s confident, doesn’t have to worry about his ankle and has plenty of starting experience. But he’ll still have to fend off Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills. The Bears would prefer that Jones leave no doubt once the pads come on.6. Can coaching adjustments fix the defensive line?The team that ranked 29th in yards allowed per carry and 21st in sacks per pass attempt returns its starting defensive line. Johnson and Allen have been open about last year’s coaching focusing too much on scheme and not as much on fundamentals. The spring was all about improving the get-off. Will that be enough when the personnel is virtually the same? The Bears are banking on rebound seasons from Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett, and maybe a contract-year-breakthrough for Gervon Dexter. Montez Sweat has often looked dominant in camp. If Poles isn’t seeing what he hoped for up front, does he make a move for more pass-rush help before the season starts?7. Roster battles at linebackerAfter parting ways with Tremaine Edmunds, the Bears increased team speed with the addition of Devin Bush, who’s coming off a career year in Cleveland. He’ll be paired with T.J. Edwards, who had to deal with several injuries last season and is starting camp on the non-football injury list. Who steps up in Edmunds’ place, and who wins the reserve roles? Jack Sanborn is back; can he compete with D’Marco Jackson for the No. 3 job? When will Noah Sewell be healthy? We didn’t see rookie Keyshaun Elliott in OTAs and minicamp, and, like Sewell, he’s on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list to begin camp. Can he get healthy in enough time to work his way up the depth chart? Ruben Hyppolite barely played as a rookie because of injury, those in front of him, and not proving enough on special teams. Is he on the roster bubble?8. Cornerback healthIn a perfect world, the Bears benefit from having the same starting trio at corner as they had in 2023 — Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon. But Gordon missed most of the spring practices with yet another injury, and now he’s starting training camp on the PUP list. He played only three games last year but was everywhere in the playoff loss to the Rams. Availability is his biggest issue. Johnson was out all summer. With a fully healthy offseason, will he look like his All-Pro self? It’s a contract year for Stevenson and oft-injured reserve Terell Smith, while rookie Malik Muhammad won’t shy away from getting in the mix.9. Safety impactIn the 2026 Bears fan survey, safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker didn’t poll as well as I thought in the “which departing veterans will you miss most” category. Part of that might be the ability for fans to quickly move on when the replacements are veteran Coby Bryant and first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman. Reviews were quite positive for Bryant in the spring, and Thieneman had everything the Bears wanted in a first-round pick. Watching them take on the Bears offense will be a fun matchup in camp, and we should get glimpses of how impactful they can be.10. Long snapper competitionLuke Elkin is the most experienced long snapper on the Bears’ roster. That experience is a whopping nine preseason snaps last year when he was an undrafted rookie. He did play with punter Tory Taylor at Iowa and had all of the offseason under Richard Hightower’s tutelage, but he’s never played in a regular-season NFL game. He’ll look to fend off Beau Gardner, considered one of the best long snappers to come out of college. Will one of them take this battle, or will the Bears have to find someone else before Week 1? Special teams was a strength last season, and they won’t want the unit to take a step back because of any questions at long snapper.