Chicago Bears Training Camp: Injuries already becoming a problem
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bears began their 2018 training camp with no players on the PUP list, but some are already experiencing injury issues.
With training camp underway, the Chicago Bears and their fans are collectively readying themselves for what should be a much different season this year. After all of the changes made during the offseason, the Bears look much different, and fans are already seeing some of the moves paying dividends early on in camp.
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One of the aspects of camp, though, that hasn’t been any different for the Bears so far is the inability to escape injuries. Now, every team in the NFL is going to experience injuries. But, for the Bears, a couple of the players already experiencing bumps and bruises are no surprise — and that could be a problem.
Take a look at the current group of players out of camp action due to injury:
- Linebacker Danny Trevathan (hamstring)
- Cornerback Sherrick McManis (hamstring)
- Linebacker Aaron Lynch (hamstring)
- Tight End Daniel Brown (ankle)
- Linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe (shoulder)
One common thread, here, is the linebacker position. Going into the offseason, the Bears made some moves right away to completely renovate that spot. Releasing the likes of Jerrell Freeman, Pernell McPhee and Willie Young, Ryan Pace wanted to get younger and — hopefully — healthier.
So far, thats not the case, as three of the five players out with injuries are part of the linebacker corps.
Two of the names stick out to me, as they should for any Bears fan: Trevathan and Lynch.
Trevathan has a history of dealing with minor injuries here and there, and has only played nine and 12 games in his two seasons with the Bears, respectively. When healthy, he’s arguably the best player on the field for that unit. But, that’s not always the case.
Meanwhile, Lynch has dealt with injuries since he signed with the Bears — and we haven’t even gotten to in-game action yet. Since offseason activities began, Lynch has been banged up a couple of times already. The fact that he’s already working through yet another injury is concerning.
The Bears’ linebacker group is something to worry about early in training camp. They got rid of some veterans in order to revamp the position, but so far it looks a bit worse off than it did a year ago.
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There is always the possibility of bringing in free agents like Lamarr Houston or Navorro Bowman if injuries persist. Pace has to have a backup plan in case these nagging issues aren’t quickly resolved. If he doesn’t, this group could quickly become the glaring weakness of the defense.