Are you ready for some Chicago Bears football? This might be the slowest time of the 2023 offseason, but soon players will be reporting to offseason workouts. The NFL released the Bears' (along with every other NFL team) offseason workout dates.
Chicago Bears Offseason Workout Program
Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp: May 5-6
First up for the Chicago Bears is their Rookie Minicamp. This will include the 10 players the Chicago Bears drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. This will also include any undrafted free agents (UDFAs) and any rookie who has not signed yet but who was invited for a tryout.
The Bears' coaching staff will want to get an up-close look at all of these players and determine who should stick around and who should not. This is also a good time to see where each player is best suited to play. Will Gervon Dexter, Travis Bell, or Zacch Pickens look better at the 3-technique or the 1-technique? Will one of the corners play in the nickel spot or are both suited for the outside? Obviously, the Chicago Bears have a good idea of where they envision these rookies, but sometimes thoughts change when you start coaching them.
Alex Shapiro at NBC Sports came up with five questions for rookie minicamp that I think you'll enjoy.
Chicago Bears OTA Offseason Workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 30-June 1, June 5-8
Once rookie minicamp is over, the Chicago Bears will then enter into their OTA Offseason Workouts. These will take place during the last two weeks of may into the first full week of June. It is important to note that these are voluntary workouts and we will need to keep an eye out for any players not showing up who normally do. Will Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet or Jaylon Johnson choose to sit out knowing they are on the last year of their contract?
Chicago Bears Mandatory Minicamp: June 13-15
The final part of the Offseason Workout Program is mandatory minicamp. This is when we can truly see if any of the existing players are not happy with their contract situation. To have them sit out of voluntary camps is not as big ot a deal as if they sit out of mandatory camp.
It will be interesting to see if Ryan Poles adds any veterans to the roster now that the 2023 NFL Draft is over. The team could use some help on the EDGE. There are a few defensive ends still available who could step in and start immediately. Will he wait to see if any roster cuts come after June 1st or snag one of the existing free agents? The other option is running it back with the current squad plus DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green. Yikes.