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It’s been a long offseason, but Chicago Bears football is back! The unofficial start to the season begins with training camp as veterans report to Halas Hall in Lake Forest today. They join rookies and quarterbacks, who started reporting on Saturday.
General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Ebeflus are both meeting with the media today, and we’ll have a full recap of the action here on Bears Wire.
The Bears will hold their first practice on Wednesday, which is closed to the public, with their first open practice slated for Thursday at 10 a.m. CT. Fans are allowed at Halas Hall for 11 open practices, but a free ticket is required (see more here).
There’s some good news this morning as second-round safety Jaquan Brisker is finalizing his four-year rookie deal after a short holdout regarding guaranteed money in the third year of his deal. Brisker will report to camp with the veterans and won’t miss any practices, which is great news for the starting strong safety.
But it’s not all good news following news that star linebacker Roquan Smith won’t be practicing at training camp due to a contract dispute. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “Smith has not yet received an offer he would remotely consider.” The hope is Poles is able to handle this contract situation as swiftly as he did the Brisker one, which lasted just a few short days.