Welcome to the 2026 Chicago Bears Season Preview on Bears By 7, a player-by-player look at the team's roster and their chances.

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Prior to last season, T.J. Edwards had been one of the most dependable players in football. He’d appeared in every game in five of his six NFL seasons and hadn’t missed time due to injury since 2020.

But bad luck finally caught up to him in 2025. A hamstring injury marred the front half of his season before a broken hand in November ruined the back half. Then, after returning for the playoffs, Edwards’ season quickly ended with a broken leg against the Packers. He was sent off for X-rays while the team he grew up rooting for staged a comeback for the ages at Soldier Field.

Edwards still found a way to stand out in the 10 games he did start. His big highlight came in Week 17 against San Francisco when he picked off Brock Purdy on the first play of the game and took it to the house. He graded out 24th among 88 qualified linebackers and was 16th overall in coverage.

An undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, Edwards has always found a way to impact when he’s on the field … he just finally had trouble staying there in Year 7.

Edwards participated in team drills during minicamp earlier this summer and is expected to be on the field once training camp starts in late July. So no worries on that front.

The main questions become: Can he stay on it? And where does he fit among the new-look linebacking corps?