Coming home to a wonky wifi wasn’t on my to-do list. But at least I’m home in one piece.
Anyway, apologies if this set of BN Bears Bullets is brief because I can’t spend all day on mobile hotspot.
The 2024 NFL schedule is slowly trickling out. And while we don’t have any Chicago Bears updates, we’ve got some high-profile early-season matchups to discuss, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter:
I thought the NFL was going to be bold with its 2024 opener and perhaps pair the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs with the upstart Texans. Instead, the league took a safer route with a rematch of last January’s AFC Championship Game. I also thought that a MNF season-opener could be in the cards for Chicago’s football team, but that goes to the 49ers and the Jets. A 3:25 p.m. CT prime afternoon window start would’ve made sense, too. However, FOX gave that to Cowboys-Browns.
Seeing all of this makes me want to go out on a limb with a prediction: Chicago Bears at Houston Texans in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football? Caleb Williams’ NFL debut coupled with C.J. Stroud’s rising star could make for a ratings bonanza. I just can’t see a scenario in which NBC doesn’t try to capture one of those two markets on opening weekend.
Dan Wiederer (Tribune) has a Bears schedule wish list created in an attempt to fully showcase the new-look franchise under the direction of a quarterback with ample star power. I’m down with a Bears-Lions Sunday Night Football showdown? That is the kind of game that would check some boxes for the NBC execs. But there is something about Bears-Texans that I think could garner more national appeal.
More schedule-related goodness:
While I was driving home, the New Orleans Saints announced the signing of former Bears offensive lineman Lucas Patrick. One of the first free-agent additions of the Ryan Poles era, Patrick was a disappointment during his two years in Chicago. The Bears brought Patrick in hoping that he’d be a stabilizing presence in the middle and perhaps build a bridge to a better long-term option. Instead, injuries and poor play limited him to 23 games over two seasons and had him looking like a weak link in the interior. It’s a bummer that it didn’t work out because he brought positive vibes and an edge. Unfortunately, vibes and good energy aren’t enough for offensive linemen these days.
WATCH: Mic’d Up Lucas Patrick Provides an Inside Look at the Bears O-Line Shakeup
A bold idea from Rick Telander at the Chicago Sun-Times: Instead of using lakefront property to build a stadium, re-purpose that land for residents to enjoy. Ideally, the Bears plan would create something that threads the needle in giving the team what it wants out of the stadium while also providing funding for city parks projects. But because no stadium project that has made that type of promise has actually delivered on it, I struggle to see how it can happen. This isn’t to say that it can’t. But there needs to be more concrete plans and fewer buzzwords tied to proposals.
ICYMI: The Detroit Lions made quarterback Jared Goff the highest-paid player in franchise history. It has been quite the career turnaround for Goff, who went from discarded ex-Rams QB to leading the Lions to the NFC Championship Game. With that being said, I hope his extension is a financial anchor that handcuffs Detroit’s cap flexibility for years to come.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. signed a massive record-breaking extension that made me glad the Bears locked cornerback Jaylon Johnson into a long-term deal months ago. Cornerbacks and safeties have different roles and are on different pay scales. But Winfield isn’t a traditional safety. And because he has All-Pro caliber playmaking skills, Winfield is resetting the safeties market. If more safeties climb through the ranks and adapt his playing style, that position group will be next to cash in.
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Patrick shares some Bears rookie minicamp takeaways. (P.S. – Happy Birthday, Patrick!)
Jed Hoyer read your bullpen tweets from his burner account, then traded for Seattle Mariners reliever Tyson Miller. Cubs fans might remember Miller was a fourth-round pick by the team in 2016. Miller seems like a different pitcher now than he was in the Cubs organization, but you can read more about that at BN’s Cubs division.
Over at BN Blackhawks, Tab writes about the importance of coaching when it comes to Chicago’s hockey team’s rebuild.
The NBA Draft Combine in underway, and Eli (BN Bulls) writes about how much work the Chicago Bulls have to do.