Hectic pace to open Bears camp

The Bears will begin training camp Friday at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais for the 10th consecutive year.

The first practice will be Saturday at 3 p.m., the second Sunday at noon. Both will be without pads and open to the public.

This year the pace will be more hectic with personnel moves going into the first week of practices and possibly beyond. On the field, the Bears, just like all other teams, will not be allowed to practice in pads or have physical contact until Saturday.

There also is a flurry of activity expected before training camp begins.

Players can begin reporting to the Halas Hall practice facility as early as this morning for physicals, voluntary workouts, classroom meetings and to receive playbooks.

Negotiations with unrestricted free agents — their own and those of other teams — can begin today at 9 a.m., although those players cannot officially be signed until 5 p.m. Friday.

Trades also can be made starting today, although the Bears were not mentioned in any such scenarios during the 4½-month work stoppage.

The Bears already have told 14-year veteran punter Brad Maynard, one of their 15 unrestricted free agents, that he won’t be back.

That leaves first-year player Richmond McGee as the only punter on the roster, although the Bears could bring in a veteran to compete with him in camp.

On Thursday players under contract can be cut, which some teams will be forced to do to save money under the $120.4 million salary cap.

This will release even more players into a free-agent market that already will be crowded.

But it remains to be seen how eager teams will be to bring in new players who will not have the benefit of an off-season program and will be immediately thrown into the mix, having to learn a new scheme on the fly.