Count Chicago Bears safety Chris Harris among the pessimists regarding the state of affairs relating to the NFL lockout.
Asked whether he expected the lockout to end by the team's scheduled training camp report date of July 22, Harris told ESPN 1000's "Carmen, Jurko & Harry" on Thursday that, "I'm betting we don't show up to camp on the 22nd."
Such a situation would throw somewhat of a kink into planning for the Hall of Fame Game matchup between the Bears and Rams on Aug. 7 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game serves as the league's exhibition opener.
Although Hall of Fame president Steve Perry told ESPN that the Hall's plans remained intact to host the Aug. 7 contest, the teams have expressed a desire to report to training camp by the third week of July to make the exhibition opener a reality.
Perry didn't rule out the possibility moving the game to a later date. Earlier in the week Harris expressed reluctance to participate in the contest if the Bears were forced to report to camp after July 22.
Harris said on Thursday that he doesn't expect the league and the former union to come to agreement in time on a new collective bargaining agreement for the Bears to report to training camp on their originally scheduled date, but expressed frustration with the slow timetable regarding negotiations.
"We've been gone long enough," Harris said. "Let's strap the pads on and get going."
Michael C. Wright covers the Bears for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.