The Bears have long known who they’ll play next season and soon they’ll find out when. The NFL announced it will release the 2021 schedule May 12 at 7 p.m. on NFL Network.
The league traditionally revealed the schedule in April, but moved it to May last year and appears intent on keeping it there. This will be the debut of the 17-game schedule.
The Bears will play home-and-home with each team in the NFC North. In addition, they will host the 49ers, Cardinals, Ravens, Bengals and Giants; they’ll visit the Steelers, Browns, Rams, Seahawks, Raiders and defending champion Buccaneers.
The Raiders game, which will be the Bears’ first at the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, was added when the league implemented the 17-game schedule. Every team in the NFC will play a ninth road game, then get a ninth home game in 2022. Helpfully for the Bears, the Packers’ extra game is at the Chiefs.