Brian Cassella / Chicago TribuneDeadline for the Bears to exercise their 2018 option on left guard Josh Sitton (pictured). The option is for $8 million ($7.4 million base salary; $500,000 roster bonus; $100,000 workout bonus). The window for exercising the option opens Feb. 9. Sitton will turn 32 in June.
Chris Sweda / Chicago TribuneDeadline for the Bears to exercise the 2019 option on receiver Kevin White's contract. They are not expected to do so.
Chris Sweda / Chicago TribuneThe Bears will host an extra veteran's minicamp, permitted by league rules because they have a new head coach. The minicamp is voluntary.
Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune & Jonathan Daniels / Getty ImagesNew coach Matt Nagy's 40th birthday
Chicago TribuneThe third and final day of the draft. The Bears have two fourth-round picks and one each in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Hall of Famer Stan Jones (pictured) was the Bears' fifth-round pick in 1953.
Michael Conroy / APThe NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. Executives from all 32 teams will attend to evaluate college prospects and begin meeting with agents about the upcoming free agency period. During this week, the market for free agents begins to take shape in earnest. Coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace probably will address media Feb. 28.
Chicago Tribune / Charles Cherney & Chicago Tribune file photoThe second and third rounds of the draft. The Bears have the seventh pick in the second round but do not have a third-round pick because of a trade last year. Hall of Famers Bill George (left) and Mike Singletary were second-round picks of the Bears in 1951 and 1981, respectively.
Charles Rex Arbogast / APChicago Bears offensive tackle Bobby Massie (70) sits on the field with an injury against the Cleveland Browns in the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago TribuneBears rookie camp, which includes new draft picks, college free agents and dozens of tryout players.
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneThe first day for clubs to designate a franchise or transition player. It's unlikely the Bears will use either tag to protect their negotiating rights with a pending free agent. The top candidate is cornerback Kyle Fuller, but that would require a guaranteed one-year contract more expensive than Fuller's expected market value. In 2017, the franchise tag tender for a cornerback was $14.2 million.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago TribuneDeadline for restricted free agents to sign an offer sheet from another team. Bears RFAs of note include receiver Cameron Meredith, tight end Daniel Brown and linebacker John Timu (pictured). For the Bears to protect the club's rights to an RFA, they would have to tender him a one-year contract or sign him to a multi-year extension.
Brian Cassella / Chicago TribuneThe Bears customarily report to Bourbonnais for training camp on the last Wednesday in July (by rule, 15 days before their first exhibition game). Last year, the Bears had their rookies report a week before the veterans' report date. If the Bears are tabbed to play in the Hall of Fame exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, on Thursday, Aug. 2, their veterans could first report to camp July 18.
LM Otero / APNFL owners' meetings in Orlando. Coach Matt Nagy is expected to address media on the 28th at the NFC coaches' breakfast. Chairman George McCaskey and GM Ryan Pace also have spoken to reporters at the meetings in recent years.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago TribuneThe new league year begins at 3 p.m. Free agency and the trading period for 2018 get underway. Expect GM Ryan Pace to be aggressive spreading money around. Depending on how the league finalizes the salary cap, the Bears could have more than $60 million in available cap space. The Bears are especially intent on upgrading their receiving corps.
Kevin C. Cox / Getty ImagesPITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 14: Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Heinz Field on January 14, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **
John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneThe first round of the NFL draft in Arlington, Tex. The Bears have the eighth overall pick.
Mark Tenally / APFILE - In this Nov. 12, 2017, file photo, Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) greets fans as he walks through the tunnel onto the field before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Landover, Md. With the Redskins essentially out of playoff contention, their biggest question moving forward concerns the future of Cousins, who is again set to be a free agent after consecutive seasons on the franchise tag. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally, File)
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago TribuneBears' voluntary spring practices begin. The team is allowed 10 so-called organized team activities (OTAs) during the ensuing three weeks. In those sessions, players and coaches are allowed on the field together for non-contact team drills.
Erin Hooley / Chicago TribuneTeams with a new head coach can begin their voluntary offseason strength and conditioning programs. The Bears will begin theirs either this day or April 9. When John Fox was new three years ago, the Bears began on the second Monday in April, which in 2018 is the 9th.
Steven Senne / APThe NFL announces the 2018 schedule. In eight years this decade, the average announcement date has been April 19. Last year, the schedule was released on April 20. In 2016, it was the 14th.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune3 p.m. deadline for a franchise- or transition-tagged player to sign a multi-year contract extension.
Jose M. Osorio / Chicago TribuneBears' mandatory minicamp concludes their offseason program.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
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Deadline for the Bears to exercise their 2018 option on left guard Josh Sitton (pictured). The option is for $8 million ($7.4 million base salary; $500,000 roster bonus; $100,000 workout bonus). The window for exercising the option opens Feb. 9. Sitton will turn 32 in June.
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The Bears, as expected, were not awarded any compensatory draft picks when the NFL doled out 32 selections to 15 teams Friday.
The Bears have not had a compensatory pick since 2009. They’re awarded using a formula that measures the balance of a team’s gains and losses in free agency the previous year. The formula takes into account players’ salary, playing time and postseason honors.
The Bears consistently have been buyers in free agency and have made the playoffs only once during their streak without a compensatory pick. Since 1994, the Bears have been awarded only 17 compensatory picks, sixth-fewest in the league.
The Packers, Cowboys, Bengals and Raiders each were awarded four compensatory picks in the 2018 draft. The Cardinals and Texans were awarded three. Compensatory picks are distributed between the third and seventh rounds.
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