The Bears' first training camp practice will be on July 29th at Halas Hall. Here's a camp preview:

This won't be the only camp battle going on... but let's be real, it'll be the only one most people will care about. If you believe HC Matt Nagy, it won't be a battle at all because he already said last month that QB Andy Dalton will be the opening day starter and that rookie QB Justin Fields has no chance to win the starting job out of camp. Do I believe him? As much as I'd like to see Fields start right away, I do believe Nagy.

Now, anything is possible. But I think Dalton would have to look Mike Glennon-level bad and Fields would have to look Russell Wilson-level good for Nagy to go back on his word and start Fields. He seems set on the "Mahomes model" quarterback prep plan that he and the Chiefs implemented in Kansas City, where Alex Smith started most of the season and Mahomes sat and watched until starting the regular season finale. The key thing there was that Smith played well enough that season to justify remaining as the starter. Will Dalton be able to do the same? The other part of the equation here is that Fields will have to look good enough in camp to make this a tough decision for Nagy. I have no doubt that every snap from both quarterbacks will be scrutinized heavily. Oh, by the way, QB Nick Foles is still here too. For now anyway.

RB David Montgomery comes into camp as the undisputed starter, so the main competition here will be amongst his backups. Will RB Tarik Cohen be fully ready to resume his joker back role coming off a torn ACL? How will RB Damien Williams look after a year off? Holdovers RB Artavis Pierce and RB Ryan Nall will compete with rookie sixth-rounder RB Khalil Herbert and undrafted rookie RB CJ Marable for what would likely mainly be a special teams spot.

As expected, the Bears and WR Allen Robinson could not come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension before the July 15th deadline, so A-Rob will play on the franchise tag this season. Regardless of his feelings towards Chicago's front office, he's a consummate professional and will be playing for his next contract, so I wouldn't be concerned about any lack of effort on his part during the season. Why couldn't the two sides come to an agreement? As I mentioned last month, I can only guess that Robinson's lack of dynamism after the catch is a key reason why the Bears just don't value him that highly, though some of lack of RAC could be down to the poor quarterback play he's had to deal with. What I do know is that it would be very difficult to replace Robinson if he leaves after the season, so the Bears' penny pinching may come back to bite them in the future.

WR Darnell Mooney will look to build on an impressive rookie season as the #2 receiver. Mooney is everything that the Bears hoped WR Anthony Miller would be (and actually was for parts of his rookie year). I think Darnell is primed for a breakout season, one that could really take off once Fields does take over as the starter and starts unleashing deep balls downfield. The Bears tried to trade Miller in the offseason but apparently couldn't find any takers, so he's still here with one last chance to show that he can be mature and productive enough to have a key role in this offense. As I've said repeatedly in the past, the talent and the passion are there, he just has to channel them properly. Will he? I'll believe it when/if I see it.

The rest of the receivers room is filled with lottery tickets and question marks. WR Damiere Byrd and WR Marquise Goodwin both have blazing speed but average NFL resumes. Rookie sixth-rounder WR Dazz Newsome is a shifty slot receiver with return ability, but his availability for camp is in question after surgery to repair the broken collarbone he suffered early last month. WR Riley Ridley has rarely seen the field since being taken in the fourth round two years ago, and WR Javon Wims is still here for some reason after his awful dropped TD in the playoff loss to the Saints. I think Byrd and Goodwin will make the team, as could Newsome if he's healthy (he could be a candidate for IR as well if he's not).

How much of a jump from year one to year two will TE Cole Kmet make is the biggest question here. After struggling for snaps for the first half of 2020, he was on the field for 85-100 percent of the Bears' offensive plays for the final four games. TE Jimmy Graham is back as well, though he'll likely mainly be a red zone threat. TE J.P. Holtz and TE Jesper Horsted also return and will compete with newcomer TE Jake Butt to be the third stringer.

After releasing LT Charles Leno in the offseason, the Bears are taking a big gamble that rookie second-rounder LT Teven Jenkins will be able to walk right in and start on the blind side. RT Germain Ifedi should start at right tackle but will face competition from rookie fifth-rounder RT Larry Borom. Jenkins and Borom should bring an element of nastiness that has been sorely missing from this unit in recent years. G James Daniels will be welcomed back after missing the last eleven games of 2020 with a torn pec muscle.

After missing mandatory minicamp, will DT Eddie Goldman show up for training camp? Nagy believes that he will, and he'd better hope so after watching how much this unit struggled to stop the run last season. Getting more of a pass rush out of DE Robert Quinn will be another priority. After the release of Kyle Fuller, CB Jaylon Johnson is now CB1, and figuring out the depth chart behind him will be another key position battle. CB Kindle Vildor, CB Desmond Trufant, and CB Artie Burns are the top candidates to start opposite Johnson.

DT Akiem Hicks managed to avoid being a cap casualty and will return to anchor the D-line. At linebacker, the Bears will hope that LB Danny Trevathan has some gas left in the tank, LB Khalil Mack can regain the dominant form he showed in his first Bears season, and LB Roquan Smith can take the next step from star to superstar. Starting safeties S Eddie Jackson and S Tashaun Gipson also return. The Bears need Jackson to get back to his ballhawking ways after he had zero picks last season.

PK Cairo Santos will be the kicker after a stellar 2020.

More to come in August!

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