The defensive end of the Detroit Lions, Aidan Hutchinson, was low-spirited when he found out his teammate, Kalif Raymond, had signed with rivals, the Chicago Bears. 

On March 14, 2026, Hutchinson shared his feelings on Instagram and reposted a post made by the Chicago Bears, which welcomed Kalif Raymond to the Windy City. 

Hutchinson wrote, “At least we’ll still see you twice a year @Kalifraymond7.” The defensive end is going to miss his friend and teammate. 

Hutchinson will still be able to see his friend soon, rival twice every year as the Bears and the Lions are part of the same NFC North Division and are divisional rivals.  

Following his five-year stay with the Detroit Lions, the veteran wide receiver penned a one-year, $5.1 million contract with the Bears. 

Raymond will enter his tenth NFL season, having signed as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos. Throughout his career, Raymond has played 112 total games and scored 9 touchdowns for 2,554 yards with an average of 13.4.

Moreover, he's the only Lions player to produce a receiving and a punt return touchdown in history. Raymond accomplished that feat in the 2024 season in a huge 52-14 win against the Titans.

But why Raymond's departure affect Hutchinson and the Lions so much?

Well, when the star DE joined the Detroit side, Raymond helped him settle into the squad as a veteran. Not only that, but even head coach Dan Campbell was impressed with how reliable and consistent he was.

But now that he has left the Lions, what's next for him?

Which coach will Raymond be reuniting with?

Kalif Raymond is joining the Chicago Bears, and this reunites him with his former offensive coordinator and now head coach, Ben Johnson. 

This is what the veteran wide receiver said about Ben Johnson.

“I’ll never forget the first day, he had everybody saying ‘Good. Better Best.’ You’re not used to doing chants like that. And then we started winning. And then he started doing it here, and everybody’s winning.” 

Raymond further added, So I’m like, ‘Well, we better be good, better, best, then.’ It’s a testament to who he is. He’s not taking his shit off because he wants to look good.”

“He’s taking his shirt off because he probably slept three hours that week to put all the work into go and win the game. It’s a testament to who he is, and I’m proud of him.” 

Plenty of praise from Raymond to his head coach, the pair spent three seasons together before Johnson accepted the HC role at Chicago. 

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Written by

Samvruth Raj

Edited by

Kalp Thaker