The Bengals and Bears will hold a joint practice ahead of their Aug. 22 preseason game at Paycor Stadium.
The teams will work together on Thursday, Aug. 20, marking the second time in three seasons the Bengals and Bears have practiced against each other.
Bears coach Ben Johnson and Bengals coach Zac Taylor have a close friendship dating to the 2012 season when they worked together on the Dolphins staff.
“It’s very easy,” Taylor said when asked if his friendship with Johnson affects the scheduling, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “He’s been great. So he and I will iron that out over the next couple of days, but they’ll come here.”
The teams last practiced together in 2024, when rain marred the day. Two Bengals players were lost for the season with knee injuries, as running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’Ante Smith tore a patellar tendon.
The Bears are where we thought they were — still deciding between Indiana and Illinois as the location of a new stadium.
Now that the Illinois legislature has blown the window on passing a bill that would help finance a new facility in Arlington Heights, the only viable option (based on what the Bears have previously said) is Hammond, Indiana.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott believes the Bears will make a decision by the end of June. He also believes the Bears will pick a move across the border.
“Indiana did what they were asked to do. Illinois couldn’t do what they were asked to do. So I’m confident the Bears are going to choose Hammond,” McDermott said, via Dan Carden of the Northwest Indiana Times.
Why is McDermott so confident?
“I think we have a great offer on the table,” McDermott said. “We’re going to offer a superior fan experience. It’s going to be an awesome stadium in an awesome location. But the Bears have to huddle and make the determination now whether or not they’re going to make the move to Indiana. In 30 days, we should have an answer.”
If an answer is coming in 30 days, Hammond is the clear favorite — unless the Bears have decided to build a stadium in Arlington Heights without any direct or indirect tax benefits or incentives.
If it lingers, Illinois remains in play. And Chicago could still be in play. An item from the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune calls the current situation a “big, fat L for the Bears, which overplayed its hand and mismanaged the entire process, squandering all kinds of good will in the process.”
It remains to be seen whether there’s a method to the apparent madness from the Monsters of the Midway. Or whether it’s just plain madness.
Until then, Soldier Field will continue to be the team’s home. For those who love tradition and football in the elements, the longer it takes to change that, the better.
The Illinois legislature failed to pass a measure that would keep the Bears in the state. The door is now open for the Bears to exit for Indiana.
“The reality is that I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family, or team, and believe very much that the incentives that we provide for businesses are to be similar to the incentives we provide to this type of business,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Monday, via Mitchell Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“As much of an emotional connection as many of us have to the Bears, and to keeping them in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, [the] No. 1 principle is we’re not going to foist this on the taxpayers of the state of Illinois.”
If the Bears leave for Indiana, that will be foisted onto Pritzker’s permanent record.
There’s a chance that Indiana was and is a bluff. The fact that the Bears said they’re evaluating options in Arlington Heights and Indiana when there is no current option in Arlington Heights suggests that Indiana is all about leverage.
If it is, it isn’t working.
With the Illinois legislature ending its spring session without passing a bill that would lay the foundation for the Bears to build a new stadium at their in-state preference of Arlington Heights, Chicago sees an opening. And Chicago is trying to seize it.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has issued a statement that makes the case for the Bears to stay in Chicago.
“Chicago continues to offer the strongest opportunity to retain the Bears,” Johnson said. “We have a publicly owned site the team has already vetted and approved, an existing sports authority with a dedicated revenue stream, and a framework for moving a deal forward. . . . I look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to pursue a deal that keeps the [Bears] while protecting property taxpayers.”
The Bears repeatedly have said that their options are Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana. Unless and until an option materializes in Arlington Heights, and with the Indiana location seemingly nothing more than leverage to get a stadium in Illinois, maybe there’s a path for the Bears to stay in Chicago.
Where they belong.
EA will announce the next cover athlete for the Madden video game franchise on Thursday. In Chicago.
That has fueled rampant rumors that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will be this year’s choice.
No Bears player has ever graced the cover of the game. The cover athlete nowadays isn’t really on the cover because the game is more commonly downloaded directly to the console. Still, the featured player becomes the centerpiece of the startup process, with video of the player playing repeatedly for everyone preparing to play the game.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley landed on the Madden 26 cover. Before that, it was 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in Madden 25. Bills quarterback Josh Allen got the distinction in Madden 24.
There once was a supposed jinx attached to being on the Madden cover. That chatter ended after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes followed his involvement in Madden 20, released in 2019, with a Super Bowl win to cap the 2019 season.
EA has owned the exclusive console license since NFL 2K5 created a much cheaper and superior product in 2004. And while many complain about Madden, it continues to be the only option when it comes to playing a football video game that looks and feels realistic.
