[38] On January 1, the Bears signed wide receivers Demarcus Ayers, Tanner Gentry, and Mekale McKay, offensive linemen Travis Averill and Will Pericak, tight end Colin Thompson, and defensive back Doran Grant to reserve/futures contracts.

[41] During the period, wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, tight end Trey Burton, and kicker Cody Parkey expressed their intentions to sign with the Bears.

[44] During the so-called second wave of free agency a few days later, the Bears signed defensive end/linebacker Aaron Lynch from the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Tyler Bray from the Chiefs.

[22][37] In early April, wide receiver and restricted free agent Cameron Meredith was offered a two-year, $10 million contract by the New Orleans Saints, which the Bears elected to not match after five days.

[51][52] Such positions were suggested in various mock drafts from those like Sean Wagner-McGough of CBSSports.com, Matt Eurich of 247Sports.com, and Lorin Cox of USA Today as they projected Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, Florida State defensive back Derwin James, and Boston College linebacker Harold Landry, respectively.

[61] After the draft, the Bears signed fifteen undrafted free agents: running back Ryan Nall (Oregon State), wide receivers Garrett Johnson (Kentucky) and Shaq Roland (West Georgia), offensive lineman Dejon Allen (Hawaii), defensive linemen Abdullah Anderson (Bucknell) and Cavon Walker (Maryland), linebackers Nyles Morgan and Andrew Trumbetti (Notre Dame) and Elijah Norris (Shepherd), cornerbacks Michael Joseph (Dubuque) and Kevin Toliver II (LSU), safety Nick Orr (TCU), and punter Ryan Winslow (Pittsburgh).

Much of the debate centered on language in the contract dictating whether Smith's guaranteed money would return to the team if he was suspended due to the NFL's new rule outlawing contact leading with the helmet.

However, Jeff Driskel threw the go-ahead touchdown to Auden Tate with slightly over two minutes left to put the Bengals up 30–27, and Parkey missed the game-tying field goal with 45 seconds remaining.

Although McManus converted a 35-yard field goal to increase the margin to 13 points, Daniel led a fourth quarter comeback with two- and twelve-yard touchdown passes to Mizzell and Ben Braunecker, respectively, to win 24–23.

[87] In the final game of the preseason against the Buffalo Bills, the Bears saw success throughout the first three quarters as Doran Grant, Ryan Nall, and Knile Davis scored on a 33-yard pick-six and 32- and one-yard touchdown runs, respectively, while Parkey kicked two field goals to put them up 27–3.

[93] On September 2, the Bears traded for decorated Oakland Raiders linebacker and 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack, who held out of training camp and other offseason activities due to a contract dispute.

[95] Following the moves, the practice squad was filled out with ten players: Allen, Anderson, Bray, Gentry, Joseph, Mincy, Mizzell, Nall, Woods, and offensive lineman James Stone.

The Bears offense failed to score for the rest of the game as every drive ended with a punt minus a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, while Rodgers threw touchdown passes of 39, 12, and 75 yards to Geronimo Allison, Davante Adams, and Randall Cobb, respectively.

With the exception of veteran safety Earl Thomas, Seattle's defense was inexperienced and struggled against Denver; in his game preview, Sports Illustrated writer Andy Benoit expected the Seahawks to suffer difficulties against a misdirection-based Bears offense.

In Golden's absence, Jones had an NFL-high 17.5 sacks in 2017, a situation that Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Potash pointed out would prove a challenge for the Bears' tackles in their effort to protect Trubisky.

[126] While the Bears defense had been successful so far, they were without cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper due to hamstring injuries, while Tampa Bay receivers Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and Chris Godwin had a combined 63 catches for 850 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018.

Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 30-yard field goal to start the second quarter, but Trubisky and the Bears answered with three straight unanswered touchdowns through the air of 9, 20, and 3 yards to Tarik Cohen, Josh Bellamy, and Taylor Gabriel.

[146] USA Today's Bryan Perez added Brady's passer rating fell when he held onto the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds, so forcing him to bide his time before throwing was another factor of importance.

Over the Bills' next three possessions, the Bears recorded turnovers on each: Jackson stripped Jason Croom and returned the fumble 65 yards for a touchdown, followed by Adrian Amos intercepting a tipped pass, and Leonard Floyd doing the same and scoring on a 19-yard pick-six.

[169] Both teams traded field goals to start the second half; after a Bills punt, Trubisky was intercepted by Tre'Davious White, though Buffalo could not capitalize and turned the ball over on downs.

"[179] On Saturday, the team activated Adam Shaheen from injured reserve in exchange for Sims, who suffered a concussion against the Bills and was absent since; in accordance with the moves, James Stone was removed from the practice squad.

[182] Trubisky rebounded from the error by throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Miller, followed by completing the two-point conversion to Bellamy; the decision to go for two over the safer extra point was influenced by Nagy's aggressive coaching style and his skepticism following Parkey's performance against the Lions.

Approximately 85 hours and three days after the Vikings game, a brief period dubbed a "mini-bye" by Nagy that only featured one practice and no film session, the Bears visited Ford Field to play the Lions for the second time in three weeks.

[194] After three punts to open the second half, Blount scored on another four-yard run to give the Lions the lead, which Daniel answered with an 82-yard possession that led to a 14-yard touchdown throw to Cohen.

In the second quarter, Goff was intercepted by Smith to set up Parkey's 31-yard field goal; after converting a fourth down situation on a fake punt, Zuerlein tied the game with his 50-yard kick.

Chicago increased the lead on the ensuing drive on a trick play called "Santa's Sleigh": Trubisky faked the hand-off to Hicks before throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Sowell.

In the second quarter, Crosby kicked a 41-yard field goal, which the Bears answered on Trubisky's 12-yard touchdown pass to Cohen, who beat safety Kentrell Brice to the end zone.

[217] Green Bay responded with 11 unanswered points to tie the game on Crosby's 43-yard field goal and Jamaal Williams' ten-yard touchdown run that led to Rodgers' two-point conversion to Adams.

In the third quarter, the Eagles were aided by two critical Bears penalties – a 15-yard unnecessary roughness on Amos and a 33-yard defensive pass interference on Amukamara – as Foles threw a ten-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert.

[239] Following two punts, Philadelphia marched into Chicago's territory; with 56 seconds remaining in the game and on fourth down from the Bears' two, Foles completed the score to Golden Tate to take the lead.