It’s Happening: The Chicago Bears Are HBO’s Hard Knocks Team For 2024

hard knocks
hard knocks

Boom! The Chicago Bears are finally making their “Hard Knocks” debut.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Matt Eberflus, and the rest of Chicago’s football team are going to be the main event on the HBO series this summer. Here’s the official announcement from the NFL:

Shout out to the folks at the NFL, NFL Films, HBO, and whoever else made this possible. It’s been a long time coming for the Bears and Hard Knocks. The show has been on since 2001. But here we are, 23 years later, and HBO’s prying eyes are bringing the cameras and everything else to tell the story of training camp at Halas Hall over in Lake Forest. And what better time to do it than now?

The Chicago Bears are coming to “Hard Knocks”

This is the most interesting team we’ve had in quite some time. And the upcoming season is the most highly anticipated one since the 2019 season that followed a 12-win division title-winner in 2018. But this certainly feels different than that did because of the many storylines that are waiting to be explored.

Just off the top of my head:

  • Caleb Williams and the pressure that comes with trying to become the franchise’s first legitimate franchise quarterback.
  • Matt Eberflus is in what looks like a pivotal third season as head coach.
  • All sorts of new faces including OC Shane Waldron, RB D’Andre Swift, TE Gerald Everett
  • How will Rome Odunze adjust as a rookie?
  • Keenan Allen is in a contract year. How will that play out for him? Better yet, how will it play out in front of cameras?
  • Is this the year that DJ Moore gets his time in the spotlight? The stud receiver is long overdue for some national love
  • And that’s just the stuff from the top of my head. This is going to be fun. There are so many intriguing angles. I’m sure it will have been worth the wait by the time it’s all said and done.

    And, yes, I realize that – if you’ve been reading us for long enough – this is a change of tune for me. I’ve long been adamantly against the Bears being on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series. Whether it was because they weren’t competitive or compelling, the Bears never seemed like a good match for HBO’s show. But with all these new faces and all the buzz surrounding the team from this offseason, this was the time that it made the most sense.

    Aren’t you glad they waited until now to do it?

    bears qb Caleb Williams practice NFL
    May 10, 2024; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams warms up during Chicago Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

    written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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