The Chicago Bears popped up in several headlines on Saturday, including with Coby Bryant crossing over sports and Zavion Thomas getting on a league-wide stage.
The Bears are coming off their rookie minicamp and preparing for their first set of organized team activities (OTAs), which will begin on May 27. During the relative downtime, players all across the league are making appearances.
They are also still dealing with the discussions in the wake of their schedule dropping.
Coby Bryant’s First Pitch Leads Bears News Roundup
Coby Bryant Throws First Pitch at Sox Game
The Bears signed Bryant in free agency this offseason, slotting into the void at free safety left with Kevin Byard III signing with the New England Patriots. Bryant was out and about on Saturday, participating in America’s favorite pastime.
He threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Chicago White Sox game.
“Bears safety, Coby Bryant, in the house to throw tonight’s first pitch! [Bear and down arrow emojis],” the Sox posted on X on May 16.
The Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-3, evening the three-game series after falling 10-5 the night before. Bryant notably attended a Cubs outing last week. They will play the rubber match on Sunday.
Bryant is following the 2025 interception leader in Byard.
He is a different kind of player, though, and the Bears hope his skill set will translate to better consistency in coverage from play to play.
Zavion Thomas an Interesting Representative at NFLPA Rookie Premiere
The Bears were among the teams that had representation at the 2026 NFLPA Rookie Premiere, which began on May 14 and runs through May 17.
However, rather than any of the Bears’ first three selections–first-round pick Dillon Thieneman, or second-rounders Logan Jones and Sam Roush, it was Thomas, a fourth-round pick, on hand for Chicago.
Thomas was a historic selection for the Bears.
He was the 24th wideout selected, setting the NFL record for the most through as many selections in the common draft era.
Perhaps even more intriguing is that the Rookie Premiere is an invite-only event. Moreover, Thomas was the Bears’ only attendee, despite some teams sending multiple players. It could be a sign that the league expects Thomas to outplay his draft position.
It could also be as simple as the players selected before him declining the invite.
Insider Delivers Warning Over Bears’ Schedule
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is among the latest to go over the implications of the Bears’ schedule. It is viewed by many as the toughest in the league heading into the 2026 season. Others suggest it is a little further down the ladder.
At any rate, the Bears face a substantial amount of doubt about their ability to repeat, let alone surpass, last season’s success.
Rapoport believes there is “a lot to learn” about the 2026 Bears.
“Really what this is, is are the Chicago Bears going to be a team with staying power? Because we’ve seen this year after year. A team plays a not-very-good schedule, third-place, fourth-place schedule to go and beat a bunch of teams. And then, when they get the good schedule, the first-place schedule, the really hard one, you say, ‘All right, maybe they’re not quite like we thought,” Rapoport said on “The Insiders” on May 16.
“Based on the way they’re coached, based on the quarterback, based on the type of feisty, feisty defense they’re going to have for Dennis Allen’s unit, this seems to me, … like a team that is going to be in it. So, how good actually are they? And are they good enough to withstand this really, really brutal schedule?”
The Bears were not expected to be as good as they were last season, even with that last-place schedule. They figure to be improved in 2026, at least from an understanding of the scheme standpoint, and on both sides of the ball.
