NEWSLETTER
Chicago Bears preseason games will be available for out-of-market fans this summer via the NFL Network.
Huzzah!
NFL Network announced it will carry 21 live preseason games — including all three games featuring the Bears and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears chose Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and will get to showcase him in front of an expanded audience in practice games before the real stuff goes down.
The league even put together a nifty graphic for its announcement:
The Bears’ exhibition schedule begins in 52 days with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game — which will be aired on ESPN. However, the team’s preseason slate of games doesn’t technically begin until 61 days from now when the team travels to Buffalo to play the Bills in the preseason opener. For reasons unbeknownst to yours truly, the NFL doesn’t count the Hall of Fame Game as a preseason game. But we’ll set that aside for a moment to share this: When the Bears *DO* play their “preseason” games, they’ll all be available on NFL Network.
Huzzah!
Chicago Bears 2024 preseason schedule
These are the Bears preseason games NFL Network will show LIVE this summer:
Allow me to use this moment to add that each of these preseason games will air locally on FOX-32. Plus, ESPN 1000-AM will have the radio call with long-time play-by-play voice Jeff Joniak and analyst Tom Thayer. Oh, and WVIV 93.5 FM will have the Spanish radio broadcasts of games. In other words, you’re covered locally if you are a fan wanting to tune in to watch the new-look Bears get their feet wet in 2024. But for fans who are out of market, the news of NFL Network simulcasting broadcasts is music to your ears (if you have access to the channel).
In the end, we don’t know how much rookies like Caleb Williams or Rome Odunze will play. Trying to peg the playing time for veterans such as DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat, and others isn’t an exact science either. I’ll be curious to see how Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus handles the preseason this time around. After seeing the team get out of the gate slowly after last year’s tactics, I hope Coach Flus switches it up in 2024.
