Colts planning to hold joint practices against Bears
INDIANAPOLIS — A new team is planning to come to Westfield’s Grand Park to practice with the Colts in August.
A team led by a familiar face.
Indianapolis is planning to host former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears for joint practices leading up to their Aug. 19 preseason showdown, a league source confirmed to IndyStar on Tuesday, although the plans aren’t completely finalized yet.
The Chicago Tribune reported the news first, and Fox59’s Mike Chappell confirmed it Monday.
Indianapolis has made it an annual tradition to host a team for joint practices at Grand Park, and the Colts have managed to bring in a different team each year without trading a trip to the other team’s training camp location the next season, the customary arrangement in the NFL.
Indianapolis hosted Baltimore in 2018, Cleveland in 2019, Carolina in 2021 and Detroit in 2022 at Grand Park, skipping only 2020 because of the COVID-19-modified training camps held around the league.
Joint practices have become commonplace around the NFL. Coaches like the sessions because it’s a chance to see how players react to an unfamiliar scheme and opponent, and players love the sessions because they tend to break up the monotonous, Groundhog Day-style feel of training camp.
Fights have been a problem at other joint practices over the years, but outside of an issue with the Browns in 2019, the Colts haven’t dealt with much of that, and it’s unlikely to happen again with Eberflus returning to Westfield to take on new Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen’s team.
With the Bears in town, the Grand Park stands are also likely to be a highly-coveted spot for fans at training camp. Joint practices always draw a big crowd, but Chicago’s proximity and sizable fan base make the Bears a formidable fan base in the Indianapolis area.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts planning to hold joint practices against Bears
