Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune and Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times led the way with their coverage of McCaskey’s state of the team comments. You can read Wiederer’s piece here and Finley’s here to get a full grasp of what’s on the McCaskey’s mind.
With the Bears’ chairman speaking on Wednesday, the three most important figures (save for matriarch Virginia McCaskey) have spoken to the media at the NFL owners meetings.
Here is the latest …
If you were looking for fire and brimstone out of the chairman, my apologies in advance. Instead, a reserved George McCaskey had big picture progress on his mind. He wants to see improvement in the win column (don’t we all?), but understands the process. Further, he isn’t sweating the small stuff, adding “We’re not on any particular timetable that somebody else is wanting to set for us. We’re wanting to see continued progress toward our goal of sustained success. … But there isn’t any sort of particular threshold.”
With that in mind, it sounds as if GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox have some semblance of job security. We’ll see how long it lasts.
Moving on, McCaskey falls in line with Pace’s vision of building through the draft. McCaskey sees progress, especially after a 2016 season in which three players (running back Jordan Howard, center Cody Whitehair and edge defender Leonard Floyd) each earned Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team honors. If the Bears continue to stockpile quality young players in the draft, their free agent needs won’t be as plentiful as they were in this offseason. McCaskey adds, “I told Ryan he should get ripped this time of year, every year, for not being more active in free agency. And that’s because we’re developing our own guys and rewarding our own guys.”
Drafting, developing, and rewarding your own players can serve as a building block for sustained success. HOWEVER, the Bears were leading football in free agent signings this offseason after signing Mark Sanchez. That’s not quite the long-term vision for team building. This means the Bears really need to double down on knocking it out of the park with this draft – or look risk looking hypocritical next offseason when the team is hoarding free agent depth pieces.
NFL owners gave the OK for the shares held by the children of Mugs Halas to be sold to the team. As expected, this doesn’t move the needle. “The big thing is that the majority ownership is going to remain in the family,” McCaskey said. “This was a small transaction. As we’ve said many times, we have every intention of continuing to own the Bears.”
The Bears ruffled some feathers this offseason when the team announced it was raising ticket prices. McCaskey addressed those concerns on Wednesday, saying he doesn’t know that there’s ever a good time to raise ticket prices (because, you know, doing so after consecutive losing seasons under a new coach wasn’t great for optics), but offers that the price hike was a function of Soldier Field’s smallish capacity. The only stadiums with a smaller seating capacity than Soldier Field in 2017 will be the Coliseum in Oakland and the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., which will be the temporary home of the Los Angeles Chargers. But when the new stadiums are built for the Raiders in Las Vegas and the Chargers (and Rams) in the Los Angeles area, Chicago’s Soldier Field will feature the smallest seating capacity in the NFL.
In other news that was to be expected, the Bears are still avoiding an appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” television show:
George McCaskey is still adamant that he doesn't want the #Bears to do 'Hard Knocks.' League can force them. He hopes it won't.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
I had a great visit with my therapist today. Between that and an afternoon cold brew, I've got enough in me to power through an evening Bears post. Let's dig into some recent mock drafts that are giving off a...
For all the discussion about the big three wide receivers who could be on the Chicago Bears radar on NFL Draft weekend, a different high-profile pass-catcher is apparently garnering some interest from the team. All-American tight end Brock Bowers had...
The Chicago Bears continue building out their organizational staff around President Kevin Warren. And their latest addition arrives to Halas Hall with three Super Bowl rings in tow. The team announced the hiring of Ted Crews, who has spent the...
Maybe it's just me, but Wednesdays are starting to feel like the new Mondays. Ick. There are just 8 days until the 2024 NFL Draft. We're almost there, friends. We've almost made it. The best pre-draft stat you'll see comes...
Even though the Chicago Bears have plugged several notable holes this offseason, one biggie remains. And it leaves me to ask a pertinent question: Who wants to play the 3-technique defensive tackle role? Perhaps Illinois' Johnny Newton is the answer....
'Tis the season for dot-connecting. And if you are a Chicago Bears fan, you might want to keep tabs on what is happening between your favorite team's current first and ninth picks. ESPN's Adam Schefter names the Arizona Cardinals and...
The MMQB's Albert Breer shares an anecdote about the Washington Commanders pre-draft process. Washington, which holds the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is hosting a bunch of quarterbacks for top-30 visits this week. Together. In the same place....
Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" played in a loop in my head on Monday as I thought about the Chicago Bears strolling into Halas Hall to start the offseason training program. This is what it looked like...
Chop Robinson is more than a cool name. He was also a productive edge defender for the Penn State Nittany Lions. And, today, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports that Chop Robinson is visiting with the Chicago Bears — today. That's...
We're adding Dadrion Taylor-Demerson to the list of players who are coming down to Halas Hall for a top-30 visit with the Chicago Bears. Chris Emma has the scoop on the Texas Tech defensive back's upcoming trip to the greater...
The Boston Red Sox (10-9), led by the red-hot Connor Wong and his two-game homer streak, are -125 favorites to pick up a win over the Cleveland Guardians (12-6) Thursday at 1:35 PM ET, live from Fenway Park and broadcast...
The Cleveland Guardians versus the Boston Red Sox is one of five strong options on today's MLB slate.One of the best ways to wager on baseball is via MLB player prop bets. There are props for each of today's matchups,...
The Detroit Tigers (10-8) are favored on the moneyline (-110) in Thursday's contest versus the Texas Rangers (10-9). First pitch is at 1:10 PM ET on MLB Network. The Rangers, with +150 odds, are favored against the spread (1.5).Detroit's Kenta...
The Tampa Bay Rays (10-9) are favorites (-159) on the moneyline when they take on the Los Angeles Angels (9-9) Thursday at 1:10 PM ET, live on BSSUN.Ryan Pepiot will get the ball for Tampa Bay while Los Angeles will...
The Cleveland Guardians (12-6) go on the road at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox (10-9) at 1:35 PM ET on Thursday.The Red Sox will give the nod to Brennan Bernardino (0-1, 1.69 ERA), who is eyeing win No....
The Detroit Tigers (10-8) host the Texas Rangers (10-9) at Comerica Park on Thursday, starting at 1:10 PM ET.The Tigers will look to Kenta Maeda (0-1) versus the Rangers and Jack Leiter.Tigers vs. Rangers Pitcher Matchup and Game InfoWhen: Thursday,...
The Los Angeles Angels (9-9) visit the Tampa Bay Rays (10-9) for a road game in St. Petersburg on Thursday. The contest starts at 1:10 PM ET.The Rays will look to Ryan Pepiot (1-2) versus the Angels and Griffin Canning...
The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers square off to start the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets are favored by 7 points in the contest, which airs on ABC at 8:30 PM ET. The matchup has...
On Thursday, Tyler O'Neill and the Boston Red Sox (10-9) take on Josh Naylor and the Cleveland Guardians (12-6), with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 PM ET at Fenway Park.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to...
The Chicago Bulls can't seem to swat the injury bug. Despite Andre Drummond and Ayo Dosunmu returning from their multi-game absences on Wednesday, the Bulls have likely lost their defense ace. Alex Caruso suffered a foot injury in the first...
NEWSLETTER
George McCaskey is a believer in the Chicago Bears’ direction.
