Skip to main content

Bears Set Minicamp and OTA Dates

The Bears are scheduled for mandator minicamp June 15, with three weeks of OTAs earlier.

It's safe to say Bears rookie minicamp will attract more attention than in past years.

Justin Fields will be on the practice field at Halas Hall for the first time when the team holds its first rookie minicamp May 14-16. 

The official dates of the rookie minicamp, organized team activities and full-squad minicamp were announced by the Bears on Wednesday, a little late this year because league protocols on the COVID-19 situation needed to be finalized.

The rookie minicamp next weekend will take on a less crowded look than in the past as only five tryout players will be allowed by the NFL per team. In the past, it wasn't uncommon for a dozen or more players to be among a large roster of undrafted free agents and drafted rookies at these camps.

It's rare when players from tryouts at the rookie camps ever get signed and become major team contributors, but it occasionally does happen. Wide receiver Cameron Meredith from Illinois State was a minicamp tryout player who caught on and later left the Bears as a restricted free agent who signed an offer sheet with New Orleans. Current Bears linebacker Josh Woods also was minicamp tryout player.

The team will hold organized team activities at Halas Hall May 25-27, June 1-3 and 7-10.  All of the organized team activity workouts on the field are voluntary, and although the team obviously wants players attending, they can stay away. 

The NFLPA last month issued a statement saying the majority of Bears player sould not be attending the voluntary on-field work, but Bears general manager Ryan Pace expressed the opposite opinion when asked about it prior to the NFL Draft.

The Bears will hold their mandatory mincamp for the full roster June 15-17 at Halas Hall.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven