The Chicago Bears will look to continue their winning ways and improve to 2-0 on Sunday, when they take on the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago’s home opener at Soldier Field. In an NFC North division where all four teams figure to compete for a playoff spot, every win you can acquire within the division is a crucial one.
Each week going forward, we’re going to highlight some of the connections that the Bears’ coaching staff and roster each have with the Vikings, as well as Minnesota’s ties to Chicago.
As one could expect between two divisional foes, there’s certainly some overlap between the two organizations.
Heading into Week 2, the Bears have three players from their 53-man roster who have previously played on the Vikings. The most notable of the three is Case Keenum, who started 14 games at quarterback for the Vikings in 2017. Minnesota went 11-3 with him as their starter and advanced to the NFC Championship Game. To Vikings fans, he’ll forever be remembered as the quarterback who hit Stefon Diggs for that game-winning touchdown against the Saints, dubbed as the “Minneapolis Miracle”.
Safety Xavier Woods, who missed Week 1 for the Bears but is anticipated to return, also spent a season with the Vikings. He spent 2021 with Minnesota, starting in all 17 games. He finished the season with 108 tackles, three interceptions, ten pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. That year, Woods ranked No. 33 in the NFL with a 76.7 PFN SAF Impact Score, generally ranking him as an average starter at the position.
The two current Bears players to be drafted by the Vikings are center Garrett Bradbury, who was a first-round selection by Minnesota in 2019, and defensive lineman James Lynch, who was a fourth-round pick in 2020. Bradbury spent six seasons with the team as its starting center, having started in all 88 games he played there. Though the Vikings declined his fifth-year option in 2022, they signed Bradbury to a three-year, $15.7 million extension in 2023. He was released before his third and final year of the contract played out.
Lynch spent four seasons in Minnesota, appearing in 37 games and starting in three. He missed the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL, but he served as part of the Vikings’ defensive line rotation, combining for 53 tackles and 2.0 sacks in the games he played.
If we want to get technical, practice squad defensive end Marcus Davenport also has ties to the Vikings, having spent his 2023 season with them. He signed a one-year, $13 million deal but only appeared in four games due to injury.
The only player currently on the Vikings who has played for the Bears is long snapper Andrew DePaola. He played in 16 games for Chicago in 2017, when Patrick Scales tore his ACL in the preseason of that year. Once Scales returned to the team, DePaola had brief stints with the Raiders and Panthers before signing with Minnesota in 2020. There, he grew into one of the best long snappers in the NFL. He is a four-time All-Pro and a three-time Pro Bowler across his seven seasons with the Vikings.
The most notable behind-the-scenes overlap between the Bears and Vikings is Ryan Pace, who currently serves as a football advisor for Minnesota but is best known for his seven seasons as Chicago’s general manager from 2015 to 2021. During that span, the Bears went 48-65 under Pace, making the playoffs twice and winning the NFC North in 2018. Though that 2018 team fielded an incredible defense, the Bears were unable to make it past the Wild Card Round. The less said about that game, the better.
Well, I suppose there’s also Chicago team president Kevin Warren, who spent over a decade in the Vikings’ front office, but most Bears fans are tired of hearing about him.
