The Chicago Bears have not seen Colston Loveland in their offense. Not even the watered-down version that they worked through during the offseason program. Loveland has been rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery for an injury he suffered during his final year at Michigan.
The No. 10 overall pick of the draft, Loveland is naturally expected to be a major factor once he can take the field. But the longer it takes for him to do that, the further away he remains from contributing.
Bears TE Colston Loveland Faces Learning Curve in Potential Return to Field
Bears Have Kept Colston Loveland Engaged Mentally
There will be a learning curve; all rookies experience it. Moreover, Loveland plays a position that has had some early hits in recent years, and big ones at that, such as Detroit Lions star Sam LaPorta, to whom the Bears’ rookie has been compared.
However, tight end has historically been a position that can take a little longer for players to hit their stride.
Now, the Bears have Cole Kmet locked into a multi-purpose role.
He will allow Loveland to focus on his work as a mismatch-exploiting weapon in the passing game, which will help streamline the process of getting him on the field and into the offense. But his absence is undoubtedly not what Bears fans want to see out of their first-round pick.
Loveland touted the mental reps that he has taken during the Bears’ offseason program, when he could sometimes be spotted exiting the field in a red non-contact practice jersey.
Bears’ Top Picks Mostly MIA in On-Field Work
Compounding the issue for Loveland, and really for the Bears, Chicago’s first of three second-round picks, wide receiver Luther Burden III, has also been sidelined. Burden suffered a soft tissue injury in rookie minicamp.
The Bears have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze atop the wide receiver depth chart. Veteran free agent signing Olamide Zacchaeus also showed well during the offseason program.
Still, the Bears used a premium pick on Burden.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that he expects Burden to be ready to go for the start of training camp. That is July 19 for the rookies and July 22 for veterans. Johnson was less committal on Loveland, but the tight end said his “plan” was to be good to go.
Elsewhere, several key veterans also have yet to take the field or have missed significant time. That includes cornerback Kyler Gordon and left tackle Braxton Jones.
Johnson noted they had 100% attendance in the building, even if not on the field this spring.
It will be interesting if he is left to make a similar assertion when the Bears finally reconvene for training camp after the summer break. That is probably more uncertainty than the Bears would like. Such is the hand the Bears have been dealt, or at least with Loveland, dealt themselves, though.