The Chicago Bears' first padded practice of training camp won't happen until August 16, at the earliest, because of the rules in place to combat a league-wide outbreak of COVID-19. As a result, Bears players have been limited to offseason-like sessions in t-shirts and shorts in an effort to prepare for a 2020 season that will begin with a very different set of expectations than last year.
The Bears' 2019 season started with Super Bowl aspirations. After a 12-4 campaign in 2018 that was led by a ferocious defense, those aspirations were warranted. But 2019 didn't turn out as expected; the Bears dropped to 8-8, regressed on offense and took a step back on defense too.