Devin Hester Talks Bears, Hall of Fame, 2025 NFL Season and More in B/R Interview

Go ahead, Chicago Bears fans. 

Feel that optimism after a 2-0-1 preseason that included a 38-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills. After all, one of the franchise's legends is looking at the bright side at the start of a new era with head coach Ben Johnson.

"You don't want to base too much of your thoughts on preseason, but I find myself doing that," Devin Hester told Bleacher Report. "And I'm liking what I'm seeing on the offensive side of the ball. We put up 38 points, which is a lot in the preseason."

To say things have not gone well in Chicago of late would be an understatement.

The NFC North team is coming off four straight losing seasons, six straight seasons without a winning record and three straight last-place finishes in the division. It has consistently failed to find the franchise quarterback it has long been searching for, and the end result has been a clear ceiling at the start of every year.

But things might just turn around under Johnson.

He was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions in each of the last three seasons and helped the unit finish in the top five in points and yards in every one of those years, including in 2024 when it was first in points and second in yards.

Johnson helped transform the Lions from one of the league's worst teams to one of its best, and he will look to do the same in Chicago with quarterback Caleb Williams entering his second season surrounded by weapons such as DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland.

Perhaps most importantly, the Bears bolstered the offensive line with the additions of Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson.

"As a Bears fan and former Bears player, you always try to pay more attention to your team and figure out why they aren't making the playoffs," Hester said. "A key part of our game the past couple years, if not decades, has been the offensive struggles. But to see that and the type of coach we have coming from Detroit and the way Detroit has emerged on the scene the past three or four years where it wasn't even a question if they would make the playoffs. That's what we're hoping for in our city."

It's not as if the Bears have never enjoyed success. In fact, they enjoyed plenty of it when Hester was making plays as arguably the NFL's most electrifying kick returner for teams that reached the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship Game in different seasons.

He played eight years for the Bears and finished with 14 total touchdown catches and as many as 757 receiving yards in a season. Still, he was best known as arguably the best kick and punt returner in football history.

Hester wasted no time setting the tone as a rookie when he led the NFL in punt-return yardage (600), punt-return touchdowns (three) and kick-return touchdowns (two). And then he ended his debut season on the biggest stage the sport has to offer with a return touchdown on the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl.

It was just the start of things to come, as he ended up leading the league in punt-return yardage twice, punt-return touchdowns three times, yards per punt return twice, kick-return yardage twice and kick-return touchdowns twice.

Hester's 14 career punt-return touchdowns still stands as the most in NFL history and well ahead of Eric Metcalf's second-highest mark of 10.

So what stands out the most when he reflects back on all the highlights and his career as a whole?

"Just making the Hall of Fame and the experience you have there," Hester said. "It's hard to describe, you just have to go through it and be involved with it to get that feeling and appreciate the hard work they all do at the Hall of Fame to make it a great experience for former players. Getting inducted and going through the whole process with the jacket fitting and the speech, it was so unreal."

He was one of the members of the Hall of Fame class of 2024, and it has finally started to sink in after a year.

"It's always sinking in again whenever someone reminds me of it," he said. "It's a great honor whenever you get placed in a category at that high a level. And I'm just soaking it up and embracing it."

What made his career all the more impressive was that it came in an era when the NFL moved the kickoffs up five yards in a rule change that seemed to promote more touchbacks. That stands in stark contrast to today's kick-return rules that seemingly promote more returns with more space with landing and setup zones.

What's more, touchbacks are marked on the 35-yard line to promote more returns with that additional space.

"Probably about six touchdown returns a year," Hester said while laughing when asked what kind of numbers he would put up with today's rules.

Now that he is done returning kicks for touchdowns, Hester is partnering with The Athletic for its Connections: Sports Edition. The sports spinoff of the New York Times Games' daily puzzle Connections challenges NFL fans to show off their knowledge of their teams' history, biggest moments and most iconic players as they race the clock to connect groups of four with a common theme.

"It's a great game," Hester said. "I tried it out several times and it caught my attention. It was something I wanted to get involved with, so this was a great opportunity. … It's an interesting game, and if you overthink, you're going to strike out quickly."

All 32 NFL teams will have a dedicated puzzle that is available through September, and users can upload their completed entry here through Sept. 14 for the chance to be selected to collaborate with The Athletic to create a puzzle to be used later this season.

To nobody's surprise, Hester is fired up to play the Bears one.

"For me, of course it's Chicago," he said. "I played eight years with those guys and was able to learn a lot of things about the city, players, owners, coaches and the history. It gives me an advantage. But I'm pretty sure other players will rather play with their team. It's a nice game, it does have your mind wandering."

It is a way for NFL fans to brush up their knowledge right before the start of the 2025 season when new storylines and stars are sure to emerge.

And Hester is going to have his eyes on two rookie quarterbacks when the season starts.

"I'm eager to see what Cam Ward is going to do this year," the Hall of Famer said. "I want to see what Shedeur Sanders is going to do when he gets an opportunity. Those are the two guys I'm most excited to watch outside the Bears."

That Hester is excited to watch Ward, who is a fellow Miami Hurricane, comes as no surprise. He is the franchise quarterback for the Tennessee Titans after they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick, and fans won't have to wait long to see how he translates at the NFL level.

They will have to wait some time for Sanders, who fell to the fifth round of the draft and is behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel on the Cleveland Browns' depth chart.

Ward, Sanders and the rest of the NFL are trying to play catch up with the Philadelphia Eagles after they lifted the Lombardi Trophy, and Hester believes they will still be playing catch up after the upcoming season.

"I like Philly repeating," he said.

With predictions like that, Hester is going to be a favorite of Eagles fans as well as Bears fans this year.