Week 2 of the NFL Preseason has arrived, and the Chicago Bears are in Cincinnati to take on the Bengals tomorrow evening. It feels like we’re in for another week where the starters aren’t playing, especially with head coach Ben Johnson saying this week that he and Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor were to place a heavy emphasis on their starting units during Thursday’s near two-and-a-half-hour practice. Taylor has already confirmed his starters aren’t playing, and you can expect the same from Johnson and the Bears.
But football will still be played, and there are still questions on the roster to be sorted out beyond the starters. Johnson said at the beginning of the week he wishes he had more clarity than he does on the roster and depth chart front, and that the next two weeks of joint practices and preseason games with the Bengals and Titans will be significant in finding those answers.
So, here are five players I have circled for tomorrow’s exhibition in Cincy.
5 Bears I’m Excited to Watch in Preseason Week 2
Malik Muhammad
Muhammad makes this list for the second week in a row, and for good reason. As Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen admitted earlier this week, injuries to Chicago’s secondary have made training camp and the preseason difficult. But where misfortune lies for one (or, in the Bears’ case, some), opportunity awaits for others.
The rookie out of Texas has had a good camp, and his video from the Cleveland game was impressive, though he still has room to improve. With the injury situation in the secondary about the same as it was a week ago, Saturday will provide Muhammad with another opportunity to impress, much like he did on Thursday in the joint practice between the Bears and Bengals, when he broke up a Joe Burrow pass intended for tight end Mike Gesicki on an out route along the sideline.
Muhammad’s looked good at work both outside (in Tyrique Stevenson’s spot) and inside in the nickel. When asked what he wants to see from the rookie this weekend earlier this week, Dennis Allen had this to say:
“It’s cliché, and it’s simple, but just continue to get a little bit better each and every day. He’s got the right mindset. He’s got some confidence. He’s aggressive in coverage. This will be a great test to go up against these receivers and see where we’re at.”
If you missed him last week against the Browns, here’s the All-22 of each of his snaps (via Ficky on X):
Malik Muhammad Every Snap From His NFL Debut pic.twitter.com/g9jxrZzH9D
— Ficky (@itsfickybaby) August 17, 2026Kaden Davis
Davis had a solid performance against Cleveland last week (four receptions for 88 yards), and he’s doing everything right in camp thus far, flirting with a legitimate chance to break camp with the team and a spot on the 53-man roster if he keeps it up. His four catches (one went for 41 yards, the other two went for 21 apiece) were nice, but his run-blocking work is the sort of thing that head coach Ben Johnson loves.
Chicago likely has five wide receiver spots spoken for (Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas, and Jahdae Walker). Still, they carried six wide receivers last season, and Davis feels like the frontrunner in a fight for that last spot with veterans Scotty Miller and Ray-Ray McCloud, JP Richardson, Maurice Alexander, and Omari Kelly.
Saturday’s contest against the Bengals gives Davis another chance to put together the kind of tape Johnson and OC Press Taylor want for that final spot.
Aug 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Kaden Davis (27) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn ImagesMORE: Kaden Davis Is Doing the Little Things (And His Coaches Are Taking Notice!)
Salvon Ahmed
With Kyle Monangai expected to miss multiple weeks with a hyperextended knee, there’s opportunity in the backfield behind D’Andre Swift, potentially stretching into Week 1 in Carolina. Roschon Johnson is the incumbent third-string running back, but he was mostly a special-teams player last season when he was healthy, getting only two carries in seven games.
Salvon Ahmed rushed for 17 yards on two attempts (gains of 12 and 5 yards) and caught three passes for 55 yards, including a 49-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. Ahmed is competing with Johnson and Brittain Brown, who saw regular-season work for Chicago last year. When D’Andre Swift was sidelined against the Bengals last season and Kyle Monangai was the starter, Brown rushed for 37 yards on five carries, including a 22-yard touchdown run.
Johnson and Brown were on the roster last season. They combined for seven rushing attempts, so there’s no reason to think Ahmed can’t win the final running back spot on the 53, especially if he shows he can do multiple things, like catch passes, pass block, and be effective on special teams.
Aug 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Bears RB Salvon Ahmed (36) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn ImagesZavion Thomas
It’s unclear whether or not we’ll see Zavion Thomas against the Bengals—he missed last weekend’s game against the Browns with an injury. Still, he was back at practice this week and caught a touchdown pass from Case Keenum during the team portion of Thursday’s joint practice with the Bengals.
If Thomas plays, he’s a no-brainer for this list. He’s been impressive during camp, with everyone at Halas Hall applauding his quick adaptation to the playbook and route-running. The Trib’s Brad Biggs said that Thomas made “several catches” Thursday, including one on a pass from Caleb Williams during work with the starters in the full-team session. Biggs said Williams was scrambling to his right, pointing for receivers to find open space, and that Thomas was about 20 or 25 yards past the line of scrimmage but made his way back toward the football and caught a pass from Williams near the sideline for a first down.
When he came out of LSU in the third round of the NFL Draft in April, many assumed he would be a “gadget” type player or a special teamer for Chicago. Still, aside from the week he missed with a minor knee injury, the plans for Thomas in Johnson’s offense are much bigger.
Ruben Hyppolite II
Ruben Hyppolite doesn’t figure to be in the mix for a starting linebacker job, with Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards, and the combination of D’Marco Jackson and Jack Sanborn likely to occupy those spots. Still, depth matters, and special teams matter even more. Head Coach Ben Johnson placed an emphasis on special teams improvement this week, and Hyppolite’s profile coming out of the draft fit the mold but hasn’t panned out thus far.
The second-year linebacker had a solid game against the Browns at Soldier Field last weekend, leading the Bears with seven tackles, and he notched a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
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