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BN Chicago Bears Arlington Park Chatter, 13 New....

Arlington Park Chatter, 13 New Tryouts, Braxton’s Big Challenge, and Other Bears Bullets

Luis C. Medina Luis C. Medina
Sep 07, 2022
Chicago Bears

There is so much to get to from a football perspective today. And yet, the allure of discussing the Bears’ stadium antics has me in a trance. But I’m not alone.

  • For instance, The Tribune (Robert McCoppin and Gregory Pratt), Sun-Times (Fran Spielman), Daily Herald (Christopher Placek), and The Athletic (Jon Greenberg) all have write-ups worth reading. And NBC Sports Chicago’s Ryan Taylor chips in with five things to know about the Bears’ letter discussing Arlington Park and a roundup of their least favorite things about Soldier Field. There is so much to take in, so clear some time.

  • One thing that won’t go away is conversation surrounding the possibility of the Bears getting taxpayer money for their stadium project. It’s the elephant in the room. We can’t not discuss it. In their statement addressing the Arlington Park project, the Bears declaring: “While the Bears will seek no public funding for direct stadium structure construction, given the broad, long-term public benefits of this project, we look forward to partnering with the various governmental bodies to secure additional funding and assistance needed to support the feasibility of the remainder of the development.” is a sticking point with me. Mostly because it was a clever and wordy way to work around hoping to get some taxpayer assistance on the project. And while I think there might be some back-and-forth on this topic in the days, weeks, months, and years to come, I wonder if the perspectives of suburbanites in the Arlington Heights area differ that much from city dwellers when it comes to being willing to foot part of the bill. This will make for a fascinating storyline to follow.

  • I think Michele Steele nails it with the proper perspective in this tweet:

  • And yet, that the Bears put if so many times in their announcement serves as a reminder that this is far from a done deal. We’ve got a long time before things become officially official. So get comfortable. This could be a bit before everything gets hashed out.

  • As for the playing surface at the Bears’ current residence, Jarrett Payton has an update:

  • Meanwhile, the Bears revealed their Week 1 depth chart:

  • You’ll want to check out the notes sprinkled throughout the post above. However, I want to caution you to not look too deeply into this depth chart for meaning. Not only can it change on a whim, the first injury report of the week coming out later today could likely give us a better idea of how this collection of talent will work together. Don’t get me wrong. Starting games is cool. But how the players are deployed during the game to stay fresh and keep opponents on their heels is important, too. And honestly, I’m going to have an additional interest in seeing who finishes games more than who starts them.

  • Who will be in that circle of trust in the secondary? How will running back carries split? Which receivers will join Darnell Mooney on the field in crunch time? With so many new players in tow and a coaching staff that will have its first game in four days, we’ll see how it all shakes out together. And in real time.

  • A whole mess of dudes were at Halas Hall on Tuesday:

  • Kurt Benkert is the most amusing name on the list. Benkert was a Packers quarterback who has familiarity with Luke Getsy and the Bears system. And while that might’ve been helpful for tryout purposes, I hope the Bears were able to successfully coax any useful Packers-centric information they could out of a former Aaron Rodgers understudy.

  • Five wide receivers? Yeah, I think that group will see ample turnover throughout the season, particularly at the bottom part of the depth chart. Two defensive backs? A pair of offensive lineman? And two defensive linemen? If you want to think ahead, expect those position groups to work out in bunches this season on the tryout circuit.

  • Kristopher Knox (B/R) offers up the best free agent options remaining for each of the NFL’s 32 teams. For the Bears, he lists wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. It’s not that I don’t have an interest in Hilton. Adding a receiver with his résumé would be nice. But I think it is very clear that the Bears are focusing on developing their in-house options. And if they were to venture outside-the-building, I think they would lean on a younger player.

  • I bet Braxton Jones is up for the challenge:

  • Bleh. I don’t like this development:

  • The folks who do the 2K rankings and the people putting together the Madden ratings must get together in a room each summer and plot out how to make the most people mad. Not gonna lie. It’s impressive:

  • One of my favorite Cubs players might be coming back (but not as a player):

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    written by

    Luis C. Medina

    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.

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