The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the start of training camp on Tuesday, although it’ll look a lot different than it has in the past. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL has implemented safety protocols to protect players as they gear up for their first on-field meetings of the new season.
One of the big changes will be daily COVID-19 testing for the first two weeks of training camp. But before they’re permitted to enter the team facility, they need to have more than one negative test.
Bears rookies have already reported to camp, per Adam Jahns. Following the first wave of rookie COVID-19 testing league wide, 12 rookies had positive tests, although the teams and players weren’t revealed. According to NFL.com, “the NFL plans to isolate those individuals and prevent the spreading of the virus through robust testing, contact tracing and education.”
We also have a look at how the training camp will play out this year. There will be an eight-day strength-and-conditioning ramp-up, which rookies can start as early as Monday, and a maximum of 14 padded practices.
Here’s what you can expect the Bears’ training camp timeline to look like, via Albert Breer.
- Day 1: Testing/virtual meetings
- Days 2-3: Virtual meetings
- Day 4: Testing/virtual meetings
- Days 5-6: Physicals
- Days 7-15: Strength and conditioning (with a day off)
- Day 16: Practice starts
- Day 21: First padded practice
Here’s the email that Bears players received, which breaks the schedule down even further. It’s important to note that the Bears’ first padded practice won’t take place until August 17, which is the day after teams are expected to trim their rosters to 80 players.
According to Jahns, Bears veterans were to begin reporting Saturday for physicals and their first round of COVID-19 testing. That will be followed by a second round of testing and the hope that they can begin camp on Tuesday.
