Chicago Bears training camp: Coaches still deciding how to play starters in preseason vs. Miami

Cassie catches up with Ben Johnson at Chicago Bears training camp

The pads have come on for the Chicago Bears, and that means it's the next step in camp for Bears head coach Ben Johnson. He caught up with FOX 32's Cassie Carlson.

It's that time of the preseason, where the critical question turns to the preseason games at hand.

How will the Chicago Bears approach playing their starters in their first preseason game this Sunday vs. the Miami Dolphins?

Head coach Ben Johnson has had those discussions, but the final decision will come later this week.

What they're saying:

The first question posed to Johnson in his press conference on Tuesday afternoon was about the starters. What's the plan for them?

"To be determined," Johnson said. "I'm going to visit with the staff tomorrow and finalize that."

The Bears have Wednesday off, and Tuesday is the last day of install for the Bears' offense and defense. With all of that on tape, the Bears can look at the film and decide how they want to approach Sunday's game.

Friday's joint practice with Miami will be a major deciding factor, too.

"Going into camp, I kind of had outlined in my head exactly the way I'd love it to play out," Johnson said. "With that in mind, we were going to revisit that with each player after the day off."

Johnson still needs to discuss with the Dolphins what the joint plan will be.

Miami head coach Mike McDaniel will be the point person Johnson will discuss with. The two have already talked about the practice, but it's time to finalize those decisions.

"I need to talk to, to Coach McDaniel tonight and just make sure we're on the same page with what Friday looks like," Johnson said. "You've already had those discussions, but just nail that down, and then we'll, we'll be on to the game on Sunday after that. But first things first, what we're focused on this practice, and then we'll make a decision on starters and who's playing what, how long and all that."

What's next:

The Bears are expected to release an unofficial depth chart on Tuesday, too. It will be an indicator of who is ahead in different position battles.

Still, Johnson stressed that it was far from concrete or official in any way, especially with preseason games coming soon.

"The message to the players was, don't look too far into the depth chart, particularly at this point in the training camp," Johnson said,