The Bears welcomed the Miami Dolphins to Halas Hall Wednesday for the first of two joint practices in advance of Saturday's preseason opener at Soldier Field.
"We're excited to get the Dolphins here, be able go out there and change the monotony up of camp for both of us," said coach Matt Nagy. "I think we've put together a nice little schedule to be able to get some situational stuff. I know they're ready to go. We're ready to go. [We want to] make it competitive, not combative. [To] be able to go out there and get some different looks, I think that'll be really good."
Mother Nature seemingly had other plans. At about 10 a.m., the Bears and Dolphins retreated inside the Walter Payton Center after a siren sounded indicating that lightning had been spotted nearby. It then began to rain. The weather delay lasted about 90 minutes before the two teams returned to the practice field.
"[We] kind of just waited it out, stretched, trying to keep our minds on practice," said linebacker Christian Jones.
The joint practices Wednesday and Thursday, coupled with Saturday's preseason game, will provide a litmus test for the Bears after more than two weeks of training camp.
"It's fun to get these opportunities to go against a different team, and it comes at a good time," said quarterback Andy Dalton. "You've been going against the same guys over and over and over again, going against our defense, and now you get a completely different style going against different looks."
The Bears offense battled the Dolphins defense and the Bears defense faced the Dolphins offense on adjacent fields. The teams conducted 7-on-7, 11-on-11, red-zone and two-minute drills and interspersed special-teams periods as well.
"They do a good job," Dalton said. "There's a lot of just in-your-face man coverage, and [they] expect you to go out and win. It's great for our guys to get that. Now getting a chance to go against different people, different team, different guys in front of you, you expect to go get your job done. I thought we handled it well. There were times that there's things we could do better. But this is practice right now. We'll look at the tape and we'll improve from it."
Just for openers: Along with most Bears starters, Dalton is expected to play 8-10 snaps in Saturday afternoon's preseason opener.
"I would say if we felt like he wasn't at the point we wanted him to be at, we would play him more in preseason," Nagy said. "[But] he's exceeded that. He could play tomorrow in a game and I would feel great about it. Our players would feel great about it. That's why he'll probably play less snaps.
"If we go out there and score a touchdown on the first drive, I can promise you if it's three plays, he's out. But if we want to see more and he feels like he needs more, too, we'll do that. It'll be a little bit of a chance for us to talk through it. And we need to evaluate [backup quarterback] Justin [Fields], so we're going to want to see him do some stuff, too."
Asked what he wants to accomplish in Saturday's preseason game, Dalton said: "You just want to be efficient. While you're out there you want to make sure that guys are getting in and out of the huddle, you're able to get up to the line, you're able to just execute the offense how it's supposed to be run. That's the biggest thing."
Familiar face: Recently retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith was on the practice field with the Bears Wednesday. Smith's five seasons with the Chiefs coincided with Nagy's tenure as Kansas City's quarterbacks coach (2013-15) and offensive coordinator (2016-17).
"It's fun to have him around and just to kind of talk through things, what he sees on some of our plays that we're running and also just to talk about life and how things are going," said Dalton, who played with Smith on the AFC Pro Bowl team in 2016. "It's been really cool to have Alex here."
Injury update: Receiver Allen Robinson II was a late scratch, sitting out Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury … Second-year tackle Lachavious Simmons was removed from concussion protocol and returned to practice.
With the Bears practicing with and playing against the Dolphins this week, senior writer Larry Mayer ranks the top 10 Bears players who also suited up for Miami.
10. Brendon Ayanbadejo, special teams
A special teams standout, Ayanbadejo was voted to two Pro Bowls in three seasons with the Bears from 2005-07, helping the 2006 team win the NFC championship. He threw several important blocks on Devin Hester touchdown returns. Ayanbadejo joined the Bears after spending his first two NFL seasons with the Dolphins.
9. Marty Booker, receiver
Booker played his first five NFL seasons with the Bears before being traded to the Dolphins in 2004 in exchange for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. Booker returned for a second stint with the Bears in 2008. He remains tied for fourth in franchise history with Curtis Conway with 329 receptions and ranks eighth with 3,895 yards.
8. Jordan Howard, running back
Chosen by the Bears in the fifth round of the 2016 draft out of Indiana, Howard rushed for 3,370 yards and 24 touchdowns over three seasons with the Bears. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2016 after setting a team rookie rushing record with 1,313 yards. Howard scored four touchdowns in five games with the Dolphins in 2020 before getting released and returning for a second stint with the Eagles.
7. Adewale Ogunleye, defensive end
After playing his first three NFL seasons with the Dolphins, Ogunleye was traded to the Bears in 2004 in exchange for receiver Marty Booker. Ogunleye spent six seasons with the Bears from 2004-09 and remains tied for fifth in franchise history with another ex-Bear/Dolphin, Trace Armstrong, with 42.0 sacks. Armstrong spent his final NFL campaign with the Texans in 2010.
6. Trace Armstrong, defensive end
Selected by the Bears with the 12th pick in the 1989 draft out of Florida, Armstrong played his first six seasons in Chicago and remains tied for fifth in franchise history with another ex-Bear/Dolphin, Adewale Ogunleye, with 42.0 sacks. Armstrong followed by playing six seasons with the Dolphins from 1995-2000 before concluding his career with a three-year stint with the Raiders.
5. Jay Cutler, quarterback
The polarizing quarterback set a slew of all-time Bears records in his eight years in Chicago from 2009-16, including most attempts (3,271), completions (2,020), yards (23,443) and touchdowns (154). Cutler played his final NFL season with Dolphins in 2017, throwing for 2,666 yards with 19 TDs, 14 interceptions and an 80.8 passer rating.
4. Tom Thayer, guard
The popular radio color analyst was an integral part of some of the best offensive lines in NFL history, appearing in 123 games with 120 starts over eight seasons with the Bears from 1985-92. The Joliet native helped his hometown team with Super Bowl XX as a rookie. Thayer concluded his career by playing the final three games of the 1993 campaign with the Dolphins.
3. Brandon Marshall, receiver
The enigmatic Marshall was voted to two Pro Bowls in three seasons with the Bears, setting team records that still stand with 118 receptions for 1,508 yards in 2012. He followed in 2013 with 100 receptions for 1,295 yards and 12 TDs. Marshall joined the Bears after spending two seasons with the Dolphins in 2010-11.
2. Rick Casares, fullback
Casares was voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five years with the Bears from 1955-59 and left the team following 10 seasons as the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 5,657 yards. (He has since dropped to fourth.) Casares spent his final NFL campaign with the Dolphins in 1966, appearing in six games with two starts.
1. Gary Fencik, safety
Fencik played 12 seasons with the Bears from 1976-87 and remains the franchise's all-time leader with 38 interceptions. A two-time Pro Bowler, he was a key member of the famed 1985 defense that helped the Bears win Super Bowl XX. Fencik never appeared in a regular season game with the Dolphins, but he was selected by Miami in the 10th round of the 1976 draft and was cut as a rookie.
