Bears Drop Major Bombshell Right Before NFL Training Camp Kicking Off Fans Are Going Wild

The Chicago Bears have revealed their summer practice schedule for their 2025 NFL training camp, which will officially kick off with July 25’s first practice.

The Bears announced Wednesday that they will hold 11 open-to-the-public practices for their training camp between July 25’s first session and August 15’s final open practice. Rookies are scheduled to report for camp on July 19 with veterans to follow on July 22.

The Bears’ practice schedule also included the team’s upcoming joint practices with the Miami Dolphins (on August 8) and the Buffalo Bills (on August 15).

Here are the complete dates for the Bears’ open practices, with times subject to change:

Friday, July 25: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Saturday, July 26: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Tuesday, July 29: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Wednesday, July 30: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Thursday, July 31: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Saturday, August 2: Start time at 9:30 a.m. ET

Thursday, August 7: Start time at noon ET

Friday, August 8: Start time at 11:30 a.m. ET

Wednesday, August 13: Start time at 1:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, August 14: Start time at noon ET

Friday, August 15: Start time at 11:30 a.m. ET

Bears Should Benefit from 2025 Joint Practice Slate

While training camp is always a vital time for NFL teams, the Bears will have an extra underline beneath their 2025 camp dates with first-year head coach Ben Johnson and his coaching staff still growing acclimated to the new and returning Bears players.

Johnson and his coaches have come into the situation without preconceived notions about the players on their roster, at least for the majority of them. While players such as quarterback Caleb Williams and cornerback Jaylon Johnson are viewed as promising leaders of the roster, most of the others — veterans and rookies alike — will need to earn their spots and prove their worth to the new coaching regime heading into the season.

Good thing, then, that Johnson’s Bears will get to test their mettle against other teams.

The Bears have conducted joint practices in previous seasons, but 2025’s practices with the Dolphins and Bills will afford Johnson and his staff valuable evaluation windows to see how their players perform against opposing talent. Those are opportunities in which they can test their knowledge of the playbook as well as execution against players who are not in the fold with them and do not know what to expect from their play-calling.

What Other Preseason Dates Are Important for Bears?

The Bears have now divulged a significant portion of their training camp schedule for the months ahead, but other dates will matter to Chicago as the team starts to trim its roster into its initial 53-man form before the start of the 2025 regular season.

For starters, the Bears will have three preseason games again in 2025 after playing four last preseason due to their participation in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The Bears will begin their preseason against the Dolphins on August 10 and follow with two more games on August 17 (at home against Buffalo) and August 22 (at Kansas City).

Afterward, the Bears and other NFL teams must reduce their roster count from 90 to 53 players before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday, August 26. The roster decisions will feature mostly cuts, but the Bears must also make their injury-list designations and identify which players they want to return to the practice squad in follow-up moves.

The Bears will begin the 2025 season against the Minnesota Vikings with a Monday Night Football matchup in Week 1 at 8:15 p.m. ET on September 8.