LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Dennis Allen has been in problem-solving mode since the Chicago Bears opened training camp.
Without Kyler Gordon, who was placed on the physically unable to perform list after what general manager Ryan Poles called “a delay” in his recovery from a calf injury, Allen was forced to find another player who could fill in indefinitely at nickel corner.
For the first four days of camp, that concern appeared to be assuaged. Then came another.
During one-on-one drills Aug. 3, safety Coby Bryant left practice because of a hyperextended left knee, bone bruise and small fracture. Though Bryant is not expected to need surgery, the recovery timetable is anywhere from eight to 10 weeks, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Allen once again was in mitigation mode as he braced for the barrage of questions that came from the domino effect created by these injuries.
Would Cam Lewis, who had been filling it at nickel, move to safety? Who now plays slot corner? What does Bryant’s injury mean for rookie safety Dillon Thieneman? What does he want to see out of Player X, Y, Z as he calls on players further down the depth chart?
Allen aimed to answer every inquiry with one retort.
“You know what I want to see?” Allen said. “I want to see 11 frickin’ dudes on the field competing their ass off. And if we all do that, then I feel pretty confident that we’ll get them to the right spot.”
Having to pivot and adjust to a rotating cast of defensive backs is hardly new for Allen, who enters his second season as the Bears’ defensive coordinator. Allen has never had a training camp practice with all of his starters in the secondary healthy at the same time.
In 2025, cornerback Jaylon Johnson was sidelined from camp because of a groin injury, while Gordon missed most of the preseason because of a soft tissue ailment. That’s no different this camp. In addition to Gordon’s and Bryant’s injuries, the Bears’ top backup safety, Elijah Hicks, opened camp on the PUP list. Lewis, who has since moved to safety to fill Bryant’s spot, exited Saturday’s practice during red zone drills because of a lower-body injury. Chicago lost two backup DBs -- Gervarrius Owens and Dallis Flowers -- to significant leg injuries.
In need of reinforcements, the Bears signed 10-year veteran safety Xavier Woods and worked out nine defensive backs Friday, and that led them to sign William Wright and Brandon Hill.
Bryant was Chicago’s marquee free agent acquisition, having signed a three-year, $40 million deal weeks after winning Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks. The Bears banked on his speed and experience to elevate the secondary while simultaneously helping develop Thieneman, the No. 25 pick, who is just over a month from his first NFL start.
For now, that job belongs to Lewis, whose versatility is his superpower. It’s a trait that intrigued Chicago to sign him as a free agent after seeing what it provided the Buffalo Bills since 2020. Lewis rotated between positions in the secondary and played in 17 games, including 10 starts, in each of the past three seasons. He also appeared in 11 playoff games, with his first start coming against the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.
“I’ve been doing cross-training, you would say, for a little bit of time now,” Lewis said. “Honestly, my whole career. You try to get a grasp of the whole defense ... the concepts, teaching, how they want different positions to play. Say if it’s at linebacker and we’re playing Cover 3, how they play Cover 3 for a curl flat would be the same thing as a nickel.
“Understanding the concept and turning my brain off is like -- OK, I’m not playing safety now. I’m playing nickel. Let’s focus on nickel. OK, I’m going back to safety, let’s turn the safety brain on. It’s a little adjustment, especially with a new system coming from Buffalo. Been putting in the work. You’ve got to put in extra work, study a lot just to make sure you understand what they’re asking you to do.”
How much time Lewis might have to miss could force Allen to have to shake up his plans once again. That’s at least how the contingency has played out at nickel. Allen tabbed Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell, who have a combined seven in-game snaps at slot corner in this defense, along with rookie Malik Muhammad. But Jones, too, has been sidelined because of injury since Thursday.
Muhammad, the fourth-rounder from Texas, has taken most of his reps with the first-team defense at nickel. The trial-by-fire experience has given the rookie a real-time education at one of the most complex positions on defense. During Saturday’s practice, Muhammad broke up a pass in the red zone and almost had an interception in a later team period.
The Bears’ secondary cannot afford another injury, not if it plans to be the strength of this defense, as Poles forecasted in April.
“In this situation where we have good corners, good safeties, we can be in a position where maybe we can have the quarterback hold the ball a little longer,” Poles said April 23.
Though still early, the next-man-up philosophy has already run through several cycles. Slowing that cycle is the key to establishing continuity within the secondary.
“DA is still installing his defense schemes right now,” coach Ben Johnson said. “We’re still installing offense schemes. There’s a lot of learning going on. And as we go through camp, we’ll come to a consensus on the players we can count on most, who the starters will be, what role they’re going to play and whether we’ll adjust things schematically to have the most success on the field. That’s what we do. We’re not in panic mode by any stretch with some guys going down. That’s what happens in this league. It’s going to happen to every team throughout camp and throughout the season. We’re no different than that.”
