The 2024 season is a crucial one for the Chicago Bears, and "Hard Knocks" will be there to document the team's initial weeks. HBO's long-running show will feature Chicago this summer, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, with the first show scheduled to air on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
It's easy to see why "Hard Knocks" has chosen to document the 2024 Bears. Fresh off a third straight losing season, the Bears have made sweeping changes over the past year with the hope of bringing home the franchise's second Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Those changes included trading the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft in order to acquire a bounty of draft picks. One of those picks ended up being this year's No. 1 selection, which Chicago used to select former USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears have complemented Williams with a loaded group of skill players that includes fellow first-round pick Rome Odunze, fellow wideouts Keenan Allen and DJ Moore and Pro Bowl running back D'Andre Swift.
Williams is also the first top overall pick to be featured within "Hard Knocks" since the Browns were the headliner team in 2018 with Baker Mayfield. Speaking about HBO selecting Chicago to be its focus throughout training camp, head coach Matt Eberflus noted Friday that the show gives the team a chance to show that "we've got a good thing going" and highlighted Williams' ability to handle the added attention that comes with the show.
"I do think he's suited for that," Eberflus said of the USC product. "He's comfortable in his own skin, he knows who he is and, again, he's been out there for several years in terms of in the media, in the focus, the Heisman winner, all those things that he's done. He'll be good."
This marks the first time the Bears will be featured on "Hard Knocks," which began documenting NFL training camps in 2001, starting with the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens. Last summer, "Hard Knocks" documented the New York Jets' training camp and the arrival of four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers. "Hard Knocks" then documented part of the Miami Dolphins' regular season.
On July 2, "Hard Knocks" will release the first of a five-part serious documenting the New York Giants' offseason.
While once a coveted show to be on, "Hard Knocks" has become something that teams have tried to avoid in recent years. In fact, several Dolphins players openly complained upon hearing that they would be the show's subject during the 2023 regular season.
"This isn't something that's for me. This is something for the entire team and the entire team has to figure out how they go about that as well," Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said at the time. "So I know having conversations with some guys in the locker room that for them, it's going to be tough as well."
