Shaw Local’s guide to Chicago Bears training camp 2024

Training camp has arrived.

The Chicago Bears will hit the practice field this week. Rookies report to Halas Hall in Lake Forest on Tuesday, and veteran players report Friday. The first practice will be Saturday. General manager Ryan Poles is expected to address members of the media Friday about the upcoming season.

All eyes will be on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Poles was hard at work bolstering the roster over the offseason, including scouting Williams. Head coach Matt Eberflus will be tasked with figuring out how to make the 2024 Bears roster jell.

Shaw Local will have all the news, notes and analysis to help Bears fans throughout training camp. Below is everything fans need to know ahead of camp.

For the latest and most up-to-date news from Lake Forest, follow @bears_insider on X. Fans also can follow Shaw Local Bears beat reporter Sean Hammond directly at @sean_hammond on X, at @bears_reporter on Threads and at @bears_reporter on Instagram. Shaw Local football analyst Marc Silverman will provide his thoughts on X at @WaddleandSilvy. Silvy will continue to write his weekly column for Shaw Local throughout the 2024 season.

Important dates to know

As mentioned above, rookies will show up Tuesday, while veterans report Friday. Once again, the Bears will be hosting training camp at their training facility in Lake Forest. Halas Hall has hosted every training camp since 2020.

The first practice open to the public will be July 26. In total, nine practices will be open to fans. Halas Hall has the capacity to host about 1,000 fans per day.

The Bears will not be holding their annual family fest practice at Soldier Field this year. Typically, the team uses that as a dress rehearsal ahead of its first preseason game. With the Bears participating in the Hall of Fame Game this year, the preseason calendar is starting early. The Aug. 1 Hall of Fame Game likely will serve as the Bears’ dress rehearsal this year. Participating teams rarely play their starters.

Here are the dates of the Bears’ four preseason games:

• Aug. 1: Bears vs. Houston Texans (Hall of Fame game) in Canton, Ohio
• Aug. 10: Bears at Buffalo Bills
• Aug. 17: Bears vs. Cincinnati Bengals
• Aug. 22: Bears at Kansas City Chiefs

The Bears will host the Bengals for one day of joint practices Aug. 15 at Halas Hall. Joe Burrow and the Bengals will square off against the Bears’ defense during a practice that is open to the public.

In the past, teams had several deadlines throughout August when they had to trim their rosters down. Beginning last year, the NFL eliminated the tiered cutdowns and allowed teams to keep 90 players on the roster until the final cutdown day.

This year, teams must cut their rosters from 90 players to 53 players by 3 p.m. Aug. 27. Teams then have until 11 a.m. Aug. 28 to place waiver claims on players who were cut from other teams.

Why haven’t Williams, Odunze signed rookie contracts?

Williams and No. 9 overall pick Rome Odunze have not signed their rookie contracts yet. As of Monday morning, five of the 32 first-round picks remain unsigned: Williams, Odunze, Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota’s Dallas Turner and Cincinnati’s Amarius Mims.

Rookie players can participate in OTAs and minicamp before signing their rookie contracts, but not training camp.

Although it’s unclear what is keeping Williams and Odunze from signing their contracts, it’s not the total amount of money in the deal. Drafted rookies are slotted into specific salaries based on where they were selected in the draft, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Total salary figures are set, and there’s not much a rookie can do about it.

There are, however, a few things rookies can negotiate. The biggest one is when they will be paid their signing bonus. They also could negotiate some of the language that could void guaranteed money in their contracts (as Roquan Smith did in 2018), and they can haggle over offset language should the team release them before the contract expires.

Another date for Bears fans to keep in mind is Aug. 6. If a drafted rookie player has not signed his rookie contract by Aug. 6, the team that drafted him may not trade the player in 2024. In theory, if Williams really didn’t want to play for the Bears (which there’s no reason to believe is the case), he could sit out the entire 2024 season and re-enter the draft in 2025. In the interim, the Bears could not trade him unless he signs a contract.

Rest easy, however, Bears fans. Since the rookie wage scale was implemented in 2011, no rookie has ever held out for that long. It’s far more likely that Williams and Odunze sign before the first practice Saturday, or sometime in the days after camp begins.

Who are the key players to watch?

Shaw Local ranked the top five most important Bears players in 2024. Here are the top five. Follow the link to read about each of them.

• No. 5 Jaylon Johnson
• No. 4 Keenan Allen
• No. 3 Montez Sweat
• No. 2 DJ Moore
• No. 1 Caleb Williams

Who are the underrated players to watch?

What about sleepers? Here are five players to keep an eye on who aren’t being talked about quite as much. These players might not be as well known as the stars, but they could play a big impact in 2024.

• No. 5 Zacch Pickens
• No. 4 Kiran Amegadjie
• No. 3 Tyler Scott
• No. 2 Terell Smith
• No. 1 Gerald Everett

What are the position battles to watch?

Here are the top position battles to keep an eye on throughout training camp. The Bears roster is in a much better place than it was a year ago, but there are still some spots up for grabs on the 53-man roster.

• No. 5 running back
• No. 4 defensive tackle
• No. 3 wide receiver
• No. 2 punt and kick return
• No. 1 center

When does the regular season begin?

The NFL’s season kickoff game will be Sept. 5 between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. There also will be a Friday night game Sept. 6 between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.

The Bears will kick off the regular season Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field. That game will begin at noon as part of the NFL’s first Sunday slate of action.