Chicago Bears: Trey Burton injury is cause for concern

Is it already time to start worrying about the Chicago Bears starting tight end?
The Chicago Bears are trying to downplay the significance of starting tight end Trey Burton‘s injury. However, should Bears fans be worried about his status this year? And what about for the rest of the season? While it’s not time to panic yet, there is definitely cause for concern.
Let’s start with what we know. Burton missed the Bears playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a groin injury. It was later learned that he was suffering from a core injury (sports hernia) which required offseason surgery to repair.
While the exact date was not given for his surgery or projected return when the news broke, the team seemed confident he would return for training camp. We do know the surgery to repair the sports hernia occurred back in March.
Typical recovery time is approximately 7-8 weeks before a player is eased back into regular sports activity. Considering we are a minimum of 16 weeks removed from surgery (and that’s assuming surgery was at the end of March) there is every reason to believe he should be on the field. However, he has missed the last four practices and there is no reason to believe he will be back on the field anytime soon.
The fact that he isn’t could mean either the injury was more severe than reported, or he suffered some kind of setback. The Bears are emphasizing they are being cautious with Burton as they want to make sure he is ready for Week 1, but nevertheless, it should be a concern for fans.
Why? Well, because Burton plays an incredibly important position in Matt Nagy’s offense. The “U” tight end position is such a key role for this Andy Reid type of offense — think Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz. The position stretches the field and creates mismatches. The “U” can line up on the outside or in the slot, and it’s a great chess piece for Nagy to move around to exploit those mismatches.
However, without Burton, Nagy loses that option. There is literally no one behind Burton on the depth chart. Alright, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but the Bears released their first official depth chart this week and there are very few options behind Burton at the “U” position, even though the staff asserts Ben Braunecker can play there.
The best option might be undrafted free agent Ian Bunting. While he’s impressed in camp, he was primarily a blocking tight end in college, so rolling into the regular season with an inexperienced player at the position poses problems for the offense.
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The bottom line is Burton is incredibly important to this offense, and the organization wants nothing more than to get him on the field. However, it has to at least be cause for a little concern considering he has had more than 16 weeks to recover from a procedure that normally takes half that long. While it’s not time to panic yet, it’ll be something fans will need to keep a close eye on.