The Bears defense heads into the opener preparing to face the Carolina Panthers with two starters who couldn't have been foreseen before training camp.
The team's first regular-season depth chart was released Tuesday, after their website left open the defensive tackle slot opposite veteran Grady Jarrett on previous depth charts while rookie Jordan van den Berg and veterans Kentavius Street and Neville Gallimore did battle. Other previous depth charts had Gervon Dexter in the position, but he was traded last week The winner is Street, according to the newest depth chart. He'll be backed up by van den Berg, with Gallimore backing up Street.
The other starting slot made clear on Tuesday was Xavier Woods at safety, with Cam Lewis moving in at slot cornerback. This position was entirely unclear because the Bears had Woods practicing with backups much of the time and used Lewis as a safety. Meanwhile, they had rookie Malik Muhammad on the field most of the time at slot cornerback starter, but he apparently won't get the nod with the first team against Bryce Young and Co.
Street was with the Saints in 2022 under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, but had not been a starter. He was a practice squad player in Atlanta last year. And Gallimore had actually started more games in his NFL career (26) than Street. Gallimore started and Street didn't play in the last preseason game, but few of the starters did play. Street started in the preseason loss to Cincinnati, but at the time it wasn't clear where any of the defensive tackles stood, but they settled on Gallimore as a three-technique backup to Grady Jarrett and Street over van den Berg, although it wouldn't shock anyone to see van den Berg eventually starting.
