The New England Patriots will have a break from the dog days of training camp in mid-August.

After over two weeks of standard training camp sessions, the Patriots will host the Chicago Bears for joint practices at Gillette Stadium on Monday, Aug. 15 and Tuesday, Aug. 16, the team announced Monday. The two teams play a preseason game in Foxboro on Thursday, Aug. 18. The joint practices will be free and open to the public.

The Patriots have previously held joint practices with the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent years.

The projected starting date for Patriots training camp is July 28, two weeks before their first preseason game.

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