Good morning, Bears fans!
One week in on Bears By 7 and I’m having a great time. Thanks to every single one of you who have signed up as early adopters.
Remember: You can always reach me directly by hitting reply on any email. If you have a question, suggestion or an opinion on the team, let ‘er fly.
— Kevin Kaduk
01 Halas Hall
Offseason schedule released
The first correction of Bears By 7: The team’s rookie minicamp will be held next Friday and Saturday, not this weekend like I previously wrote. The rookies will be followed by two OTA sessions (May 27-29, June 2-4) and mandatory minicamp June 9-11 before breaking until training camp in late July.
02 Free Agency
Bears brass meets with NFL
Per Courtney Cronin, Bears leadership had a meeting to update the stadium committee on both the Illinois and Indiana sites. As Adam Hoge cracked, it sounds like the Zoom “could’ve been an email.”
03 NFC North
Vikings launch GM search
Always have to love when a competitor goes through a draft and then starts looking for a permanent GM. The interim GM (and no Bears personnel) are among The Athletic’s 14 most likely candidates.
My man, Mark Carman! How much did Carm enjoy working with me at CHGO? Apparently so much so that he still feels inclined to help get the word out about Bears By 7. He’s the second person to refer four or more new readers to the newsletter.
For his efforts, Carm gets this shoutout, all of his stars at the top of the newsletter filled in and a Bears By 7 sticker that’s backed by my eternal friendship.
Send your personalized referral link to four friends and get the same when they sign up!
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Why Week 1 Can Only Be Seattle
ESPN’s Mike Wilbon caused some reaction on Wednesday morning when he seemingly let it leak the Bears will open the NFL season in Seattle on Wednesday, September 9.
“The Bears could be a better team and not have as good a record,” Wilbon said on ‘Get Up.’ “That is very possible given the schedule, which I believe starts out on a Wednesday night in Seattle.”
Come again? Wilbon’s co-hosts didn’t say anything to confirm the statement, nor did the Chicago native follow up on it.
So did a little birdie tell an ESPN big shot some inside info … or is he playing the same the same parlor game as the rest of us?
To wit:
Seattle 2026 Home Opponents
Rams - Playing in Australia Week 1.
49ers - Ditto.
Cardinals - (LOL)
Chiefs - Fatigue and Mahomes not guaranteed.
Chargers - The NFL’s most invisible team.
Giants - Not enough star power yet.
Patriots - Not after Vrabel’s offseason, plus the Super Bowl wasn’t competitive.
That basically leaves the Cowboys battling the Bears for the opener. Wouldn’t they be a better bet to open against a NFC East opponent on either Sunday or Monday night?
And do we really think the NFL will pass on Caleb Williams and the Bears after they drove HUGE ratings for the Rams playoff game and two Saturday night games against the Packers?
Not likely. Roger Goodell didn’t build a $25 billion a year business without making the easy decision to shooting a few fish in the barrel.
Then again, a lot of those fish were putting the Dallas Cowboys in primetime any chance he could.
I’d be on board with the Bears appearing in that game for a few reasons.
Gets your toughest road game out of the way first and if you manage a win, it’s a fantastic springboard to the rest of the season.
Gives you 11-12 days to prepare for a Week 2 matchup, which could well be a home primetime game against a divisional opponent.
Checks your Wednesday/Thursday box without a short rest week (though there’s no guarantee the Bears won’t get another one.)
Who wouldn’t want to see the Bears in the league opener?
The reasons we wouldn’t the Bears to play? Defending Super Bowl champs are 13-5 in the Kickoff Game and there’s not much reason for a faux bye week that early in the year.
The NFL hasn’t announced a date for its schedule release, but it’s likely to come sometime over the next two weeks. We’ll know for certain then.
A game like this, though, should be announced earlier. Probably in the middle of the Avengers:Doomsday trailer for max Disney company synergy.
Unless the actual announcement just came from Wilbon and we didn’t realize it?
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Matt Miller ranked his top 100 picks based on value, fit and need. The Bears appearing on the list: Dillon Thieneman (11), Malik Muhammad (46) and Keyshaun Elliott (81). (ESPN)
Adam Hoge on how the Bears landed Dillon Thieneman and why they sacrificed DL in the draft. (CHGO)
Catching up with the fourth grade teacher who received the signed Caleb Williams jersey. She’s from Elgin. (ABC 7 Chicago)
Congrats to Cassie Carlson, now just the second woman in Chicago television history to hold the title of lead sports anchor. (Sun Times)
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