Bears set preseason game vs. Dolphins, schedule joint practices with them, Bills in August

The Bears will open the preseason by hosting the Dolphins on Aug. 10 (a Sunday) at 12 p.m., the team announced Thursday. Details for that game were left unspecified when the league released the schedule last week.

They also will host the Bills on Aug. 17 and visit the Chiefs on Aug. 22.

In connection with the Dolphins and Bills games, coach Ben Johnson arranged joint practices with both teams at Halas Hall. Those sessions will be open to the public, though dates haven’t been set.

“The length of training camp, it helps break it up just a little bit and it keeps the guys fresh,” Johnson said last month. “It's something that we've done in the past that I do feel strongly about.”

Johnson began his NFL coaching career with the Dolphins in 2012 as an offensive assistant under coach Joe Philbin. He withstood the coaching change to Adam Gase and remained with the Dolphins in various roles through 2018 when the team cleaned house.

Johnson went from there to the Lions, where his career skyrocketed and he became the most coveted head-coaching candidate in the NFL.

He has no work experience with Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel or Bills coach Sean McDermott.

The Bears hosted the Bengals for a joint practice last year ago, though they ended up closing it to fans because of inclement weather. They also visited the Colts for two joint practices under former coach Matt Eberflus in 2023.

The Dolphins visited for two joint practices in 2021 when Brian Flores was their coach and Matt Nagy was coaching the Bears.