Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, warms up during Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Saturday, May 11, 2024. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times Boy, what a couple of days it has been for Bears fans since the team’s 2024 schedule was released. Birds are chirping a bit more beautifully. Angels are singing. And that wafting aroma? It’s the sweet, sultry smell of glorious, inevitable victory. What, too much? In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the social platform X, we asked for your take on the Bears ..read more

In 2014, filmmaker George Lucas eyed land south of Soldier Field for his proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. After public derision of the initial drawings, a revised design was unveiled the next year (rendering at left). Amid a legal challenge from Friends of the Parks, Lucas gave up and is building the museum in Los Angeles. Now, at the same site, the Bears want to build a new domed stadium. They released renderings (right) of the proposal in April. Provided Dazzling drawings, a cheerleader in the mayor’s office, and a possible new crown jewel for a lakefront already known as the “g ..read more

Kansas defensive lineman Austin Booker runs a drill during Big 12 NCAA college NFL football pro day Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. LM Otero/AP The Bears signed the third member of their draft class Thursday, inking Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker to his standard four-year rookie contract. Booker is expected to make about $4.2 million over four years. The Bears traded back into the draft to take Booker, who had just one start in a college career that spanned Minnesota and Kansas. He appeared in just 18 games in college — but recorded eight sacks. Booker is the third of five ..read more

The Bears open the 2024 NFL season at home Sept. 8 against the Titans (noon, Fox 32). Kamil Krzaczynski/AP The Bears’ 2024 schedule is… interesting. They’ll play the entire AFC South before facing an NFC North foe for the first time — in Week 11. Of their last eight games, six are within their division. They have a stretch of three consecutive home games followed by three consecutive road games. What gives? NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North explained the situation, which is not unique to the Bears. The Steelers also don’t play a division game until Week 11, and the Viki ..read more

A rendering of the proposed new Bears stadium, with a deconstructed Soldier Field in the foreground. A site further south — and close to the lake — is worth considering, according to Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson. It’s where Michael Reese Hospital once stood. Chicago Bears With the Bears’ hurry-up offense stalling in Springfield, Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson called Thursday for the political equivalent of a halftime adjustment. He wants to switch from building a domed stadium on lakefront parkland to using the stadium project to jump-start development of a new Chicag ..read more

Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, is scheduled to make his first NFL start against the Texans at Soldier Field in the Bears’ regular-season opener. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times The Bears are tied for the third-easiest schedule in the NFL this season — based on their opponents’ 2023 records (135-154, .467). Even by expectations — their opponents’ 2024 season Vegas win totals — their schedule is tied for the sixth-easiest (8.21 wins). That statistic, though, has not been very predictive. The five teams with the easiest schedules heading into the 2023 season went a combined 41 ..read more

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus watches as quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, throw the ball during Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Saturday, May 11, 2024. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times The Bears could play any team, any time, any location this season and it’ll be interesting thanks to the arrival of prized rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Every matchup matters with this much at stake. The rollout of his rookie season materialized Wednesday when the NFL released its 2024 schedule. The Bears will unveil Williams at home against the T ..read more

The Bears, who faced the Raiders at London’s Tottneham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, will return to the venue on Oct. 13 to face the Jaguars. Tim Ireland/AP The Bears have known since January that they were set to play a game in London this year. Now they have a date and an opponent: Oct. 13 against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Kickoff is at 8:30 a.m. Chicago time. The Bears are also expected to play at the Lions on Thanksgiving, a source confirmed. The NFL announced the Week 6 game Wednesday as part of its rollout of the 2024 schedule. It will mark the Bears' return to the same ..read more

Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (28) goes in for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, in London. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) Tim Ireland/AP The Bears have known since January that they were set to play a game in London this year. Now they have a date and an opponent: Oct. 13 against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Kickoff is at 8:30 a.m. Chicago time. The NFL announced the Week 6 game Wednesday as part of its rollout of the 2024 schedule. It will mark the Bears' return to the ..read more

Renderings of the proposed new Bears stadium Chicago Bears It was fascinating to hear Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren and Mayor Brandon Johnson announce recently that they had plans for a new Bears stadium on the lakefront. It was weird because, well, weren’t the Bears going to build their new stadium in Arlington Heights, where they had purchased the land on which the now-demolished Arlington International Racecourse stood? ‘‘We are the largest landowner in Arlington Heights right now,’’ Warren said. So? But taxes are too high there, the Bears said. Can’t build. So other suburbs got in ..read more