The Chicago Bears are one of four NFL teams that are eligible to be on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in August 2023.
While Chicago has notably turned it down in the past, teams can now be forced into it.
The criteria for “Hard Knocks” is simple: 1) You’d have to miss the playoffs for the past two seasons; 2) You can’t have a first-year head coach; and 3) You can’t have hosted “Hard Knocks” in the past decade.
There are only four teams that meet all of those qualifications: the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Washington Commanders.
But Bears chairman George McCaskey made it clear that he’s not interested in the team being on “Hard Knocks.”
“We feel there are a number of teams that have compelling stories to tell on ‘Hard Knocks,'” McCaskey said, via Kevin Fishbain.
Does that include the Bears?
“31 others,” McCaskey said.
According to Fishbain, the Bears “believe that their training camp access — free to fans — in addition to their in-house productions provides behind-the-scenes access to the team.”
No surprise, but the Bears are not interested in being on "Hard Knocks." They are one of the teams eligible to be forced to do it in 2023.
George McCaskey: "We feel there are a number of teams that have compelling stories to tell on Hard Knocks."
Bears included?
"31 others."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) March 29, 2023
While McCaskey might not want the Bears on “Hard Knocks,” he doesn’t have the ultimate decision. After all, most — if not all — teams don’t want to be on the HBO series. The NFL can force a team to be on it.
And when you look at the four teams that can be forced to be on “Hard Knocks” this season — Bears, Jets, Commanders and Saints — it certainly feels like Chicago could be the most appealing.
They have a young, rising quarterback in Justin Fields, a second-year head coach in Matt Eberflus and a young GM who has been retooling this roster with some impressive new faces, including wide receiver DJ Moore and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
But the one thing that could save the Bears from an appearance would be, ironically, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is expected to be traded to the Jets, and you could certainly see why the NFL would want to spotlight that storyline on “Hard Knocks.”
We’ll see if McCaskey gets his wish.
