Today, the Chicago Bears begin preparations for the 2024 season with the start of the voluntary offseason workout program. It's the beginning of the new year for the team and also a new era that technically won't officially begin until next week.
The current players on the Bears' roster will report to the team facilities today and will be without their starting quarterback who will run the ship in 2024 and beyond.
The 2024 NFL Draft is still over a week away, where the Bears are expected to select their next franchise quarterback with the first overall pick. In the meantime, it's time for the rest of the players to get the preparations started before he arrives in Chicago.
The voluntary offseason workout program kicks off with two weeks of Phase I workouts. Players can attend meetings, partake in strength and conditioning training at team facilities, and participate in physical rehabilitation. Phase II of the offseason workout program begins on April 29th with on-field workouts followed by organized team activities (OTAs) starting in May 20th.
As for the Bears' next starting quarterback and the rest of the incoming 2024 draft class, teams are allowed to hold their rookie minicamp during the first or second weekend following the 2024 NFL draft next weekend.
A few of the Bears' new stars have already been spending the last few weeks getting acclimated with their new teammates while going through their own personal offseason workouts ahead of the next season.
It's the start of what will hopefully be an exciting new beginning for the Bears' team, but the level of expectation remains the same for those inside the building despite the major changes on the way in the locker room.
"Every year the goal is to go get a Super Bowl," Bears defensive end Montez Sweat said on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long. "I think honestly, we want to win [the] division. We want to win division, that's the goal."
Time will only tell if the Bears can finally achieve the dream in 2024 with a new quarterback at helm and Matt Eberflus returning for his third season as head coach.
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