The Chicago Bears began the day with good news, but it ended with significant uncertainty, as Kyle Monongai’s return was sullied by the loss of safety Coby Bryant, whose status remains unknown heading into Tuesday’s practice.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson is not scheduled to speak with the media again until Thursday, which is a lot of time for the situation to play out.
That was not the Bears’ only injury concern on the day either.
Bears Face New Injury Concerns After First Padded Practice
Two Players Go Down to Apparent Injuries During Bears Training Camp
Johnson noted that Monangai was dealing with a “soft-tissue” issue ahead of Monday’s practice, but did not reveal that the second-year back would practice.
Getting him back is a pleasant development for a Bears’ offense built around the running game.
Monangai did not appear to get many, if any, reps during team periods, at least not with the first team. However, it is unclear if that was part of a preexisting plan due to his situation or Bryant’s exit forcing an abundance of caution.
Bryant went down during an early team period, while trying to defend tight end Cole Kmet. After getting onto the cart under his own power, a visibly upset Bryant was taken inside Halas Hall.
None of the players who spoke after had any updates, nor would they.
But the Bears will now wait with bated breath to find out if one of their prized free agents–whom they signed to a three-year, $40 million contract in free agency–is going to be sidelined for the short- or long-term, if at all.
Bears Down Multiple DBs
Cam Lewis stepped in as FS1 for the Bears after Bryant’s exit from practice. That meant he was unable to fill in for what have been his typical reps at nickelback this summer. Jaylon Jones, who has led the reps there for the most part, retained his role in the slot.
The Bears are already down starting nickel Kyler Gordon and backup safety Elijah Hicks. Hicks operated as the starting strong safety next to Bryant during the Bears’ offseason program.
Cornerback Terell Smith also exited Monday’s practice early.
The Bears took a gamble, letting Pro Bowlers, leadership, and playmaking walk out the door this offseason in the secondary. There is no guarantee any of those players would have avoided a similar fate.
Nevertheless, it was an ominous way to begin Week 2 of Bears training camp.
Leave a Reply