How Bears Versatile Defensive Back Cam Lewis Fits in Dennis Allen's defense

The NFL is a great reminder of how quickly things can change from one season to the next.

In the Chicago Bears' Divisional Round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the starting secondary featured Jaylon Johnson, Nahshon Wright, Kevin Byard III, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon.

Only Johnson and Gordon are still on the team. C.J. Gardner-Johnson also played throughout the 2025 season, but he left in free agency along with Wright, Byard and Brisker. 

General manager Ryan Poles has made some additions to the secondary, signing Coby Bryant on a three-year, $40 million deal. The former Seattle Seahawks safety is coming off a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. He will fill Byard's role at free safety. 

Then there is Cam Lewis, who signed a two-year, $6 million contract. The 5-foot-9, 183-pound versatile defensive back has played exclusively with the Buffalo Bills since he joined the team in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. 

Lewis played in all 17 regular season games this past season, registering 35 total tackles, four passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.  He has also made significant contributions on the Bills' special teams. Since 2023, he has played 792 total snaps across all different units on the third phase.   

How the Bills used Lewis during the 2025 season should give Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen some flexibility. 

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That type of versatility has been a staple of Lewis' career and has helped him earn his most recent contract with the Bears.

“Trying to stick around in the NFL, to be completely honest with you," Lewis said. "I was undrafted coming out of (University at) Buffalo. I'm just trying to find a way to stay on the team. When I was in Buffalo, cross training was brought to me as an opportunity, and so I just took the opportunity and ran with it, just trying to learn as much football as I could. I was in that Buffalo system for seven years, so I knew the whole defense like the back of my hand. It helped me really understand the ins and outs of NFL defenses and going against different offensive schemes.”

For the first time in Lewis' NFL career, he will be learning a new defense. There will naturally be an adjustment period for Lewis, but given the Bears' recent vacancies in the secondary, he may have opportunities to contribute in multiple ways in Allen's scheme. 

During Lewis' Friday media availability over Zoom, the Bears' defensive back shared the position he feels that he excels at more so than others. 

“I like safety a lot," Lewis said. "But, I really wouldn't put it that much higher than everything else. I like nickel because you get to be around in the box a little bit more, around the football a lot. Same with the dime position, but safety in the back end, you just see everything a little bit better. You able to go attack the ball when the ball is in the air, and then come down and lay some hits. I'm not afraid to throw these 193 pounds in the mix. So, I’m not worried about that. So, wherever I’m able to fit in and play is the position I like at the moment.”

The Bears decided to move on from a majority of their starters from a season ago, and a potential reasoning for that could be so the unit can have more versatility with players like Lewis. 

It's far too early to know exactly where and how Allen will utilize Lewis. The Bears could still use their draft capital to add more players in the secondary, which could change Lewis' usage. 

But his versatility only increases the different ways he can make an impact for the Bears' defense this upcoming season.