Good morning, Bears fans!
So let’s get this straight: The Chicago Park District is having a contest to name two baby eaglets and “Caleb” and “Cole” are not among the candidates?
Missed opportunity, imo.
— Kevin Kaduk
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01 Stadium News
Bears deny serious Chicago talks
Less than 10 days to go and here’s how the Bears’ quest for a new stadium is going: After weeks of saying there were only two viable candidates, they had to issue yet another statement pushing Chicago out of the way. More on this below.
02 NFC North News
Lions LB signs monster extension
Jack Campbell’s four-year, $81 million deal ($51.5 million guaranteed) passes Roquan Smith’s deal as the league’s second-biggest off-ball LB contract. Fred Warner is first at $21 million a year.
03 NFL News
Matt Stafford signs 1-year deal worth $55 million
A reminder that Caleb Williams will be making even more than that one day soon.
1️⃣1️⃣4️⃣ Days Until The Season Opener
🎂 Bears Birthdays: Jason McKie (46)
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Making sense of the stadium mess
I haven’t enjoyed covering the Bears’ quest for a new stadium the last three years, because nothing stays true for long.
The Bears bought Arlington Racetrack and are building there.
Just kidding. Here are drawings of a revamped lakefront stadium.
But what about that old BP property in Naperville?
Or maybe a parcel up in Waukegan?
They still have that beautiful property in Arlington, though.
Hey look, Wolf Lake and Hammond!
(Pay no attention to the Chicago mayor trying to get back through the door.)
Trying to chronicle all of it has been like trying to write about a haunted house trip before you escape. There have been so many false exits, bad actors and things tugging at your ankle that it’s been hard to focus on anything besides hoping it’ll all be over soon.
(And maybe the way out is right around the corner or maybe you’re stuck in here forever.)
As such, I’m hesitant to ask questions like “Are the Bears blowing it?” because things could clear up 10 minutes after this email is sent, at least theoretically.
And with politicians in two states and three jurisdictions involved, of course things were going to get super wacky at the end.
To recap just this week:
The Arlington Heights mayor spurred a round of questioning over Hammond’s environmental fitness to build a stadium — already a well-known hurdle to many — and it worked! An entire news cycle was devoted to discovering what slag heaps are.
Mayors from towns neighboring Arlington Heights complained they weren’t being included in any talks and that a requested traffic study had yet to be completed.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun has acted confident about getting the Bears to move across state lines.
State Sen. Bill Cunningham then wielded the chaos hammer, revealing that Bears brass had quietly reached out to the city to talk about terms on a lakefront stadium. The talks were apparently enough to instill hope in Chicago legislators and stop the Arlington Heights momentum.
The Bears issued a statement on Thursday essentially telling Mayor Brandon Johnson to stop crashing the party and that the reported talks between team and city could’ve been about anything.
Not included in any of those bullet points? Anything resembling signs this Megaprojects Bill will get through the Senate before everyone heads home on
I find it hard to believe that Illinois politicians will let the Bears leave or that JB Pritzker’s national political ambitions would accept the damage of losing the team to a neighboring state.
Then again, the Bears have spent most, if not all, of their existence as tenants in stadium situations not befitting their status as the league’s charter franchise.
Why should we expect things to change now?
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“The offensive guys that I’ve been around have just been trained killers and Ben is a trained killer. Will cut your throat out.”
This Chevy is like a DeLorean: Get in and it takes you right back to 1985.
Photo from my good frent Jay Zawaski
Luis Medina enjoyed watching Coby Bryant break down film of the Seahawks crushing Drake Maye in the Super Bowl. (Bleacher Nation Bears)
Cue the Norman Dale: Bears d-line coach Jeremy Garrett is focused on who they are at Halas Hall, not who they are not. (Sun-Times)
Why the Bears’ next Hall of Famer could come from the 1985 team. (SI)
This new officially-licensed Rome Odunze shirt from Breaking T is fantastic. (Breaking T - Affiliate link)
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