Chicago Bears OTAs: The battle for the backup quarterback position officially begins

The next phase of the offseason program begins on Monday for the Chicago Bears with the start of the organized team activities (OTAs).

The Bears will hold OTAs on May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, and May 31. This will be the first opportunity for the returning players to hit the field with all of the team's new rookies and UDFAs added over the last few weeks.

Because of that, we will be getting our first real look of the entire new Bears roster including the free agent additions. That means the team can start determining how the roster will actually be shaped out from top to bottom, starting today. With that in mind, here are four roster storylines to follow during OTAs.

Four storylines to start monitoring as Bears OTAs begin on Monday

1. Which UDFA, if any, will win the QB2 job?

Last season, a surprise name came out of nowhere to win the Bears' QB2 job behind Justin Fields and even took over as the starter for four games after Fields injured his thumb. That name was of course 2023 UDFA Tyson Bagent.

With first overall pick Caleb Williams already confirmed to be the starting quarterback for the Bears going forward, we can now focus our attention on who will back up the team's new rookie quarterback.

Bagent has the clear avenue to start out OTAs in that role but it will be an open competition between him, free agent signee Brett Rypien, and 2024 UDFA Austin Reed. All three quarterbacks with have their fair shot at the job and will have a wide range of top pass catchers in practice to help build their respective cases.

2. Ryan Bates vs. Coleman Shelton to start at Center

Gone are the days of watching Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick struggle on the interior of the offensive line in Chicago. Both players are out and two new veterans are in who will compete for the open position on the starting offensive front.

After months of interest, the Bears finally swiped Ryan Bates from the Buffalo Bills and then afterwards went out to sign the Los Angeles Rams former starting center Coleman Shelton. Those two alone offer a major improvement from what the team had on the inside during the 2023 season.

While this again will be an open competition over the next few weeks, I expect Shelton to eventually win the job based on his true starting experience at center. Bates will replace Whitehair perfectly as a depth player with experience at multiple positions.

3. Shake out of the WR room beyond the starting trio

DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze give the Bears one of the league's best wide receiver trios on offense and we finally get to see all three on the field catching passes from their new quarterback this week.

Beyond the big three, who the Bears decide to keep on the roster at wide receiver will be intriguing to follow. Unfortunately for Bears' fans, Velus Jones' spot on the roster is secured given his abilities in the return game, as is Tyler Scott's role entering Year 2.

Last season, the Bears kept six wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster, leaving one spot available for competition between Freddie Swain, Dante Pettis, John Jackson, Collin Johnson, Nsimba Webster, and Peter LeBlanc. May the best man win. 

4. Will the Bears even need to add a veteran defensive lineman?

After only making one real addition to the defensive line this offseason, which was trading back into the draft to select defensive end Austin Booker, the Bears are putting a lot of trust into the development of the returning players.

The star of the room is of course Montez Sweat, who helped transform the entire defense single-handedly in 2023. After moving on from Yannick Ngakoue, the position opposite Sweat on the edge is open with DeMarcus Walker holding the spot for now as Booker develops ahead of the season.

On the interior, the Bears will have veteran Andrew Billings and second-year players in Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens. The coming days will be a big opportunity for these young players to make an impact and prove the front office won't need to return to the open market to bring in another stopgap veteran off the streets for training camp.