When training camp began, the Chicago Bears already had questions about their wide receiver position. Many felt it was the worst in the NFL in terms of star power and depth. The last thing they could afford was a rash of injuries to strike. Sadly, that seems to be the team’s misfortune. Word came out of Saturday’s padded practice that two key losses were suffered. Head coach Matt Eberflus quickly confirmed both.
N’Keal Harry, the former 1st round pick Chicago acquired via trade from New England, went down with an apparent ankle injury that required the help of teammates and trainers to leave the field. Then to make matters even worse, it was revealed free agent addition Byron Pringle suffered a quad injury. His status for the rest of camp is now in question, with Eberflus making it seem like the team is targeting his return for the regular season opener next month.
To top it all off, rookie Velus Jones is also considered day-to-day with a minor injury of his own.
#Bears went live at start of a team period and WR N'Keal Harry appeared to be tackled by FS Eddie Jackson & LB Nicholas Morrow.
Harry had difficulty putting any weight on his left leg after he got up and was helped to the locker room.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 6, 2022
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#Bears WR Byron Pringle has a quad injury. Matt Eberflus wont put a timetable on it.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 6, 2022
Chicago Bears have serious problems now.
There is no getting around it. Three of the projected top five receivers on their depth chart are out with injuries. Two of them sound relatively serious. Right now, it appears to be Darnell Mooney and Equanimeous St. Brown, followed by a wide gap from everybody else. GM Ryan Poles has his work cut out for him. If Harry and Pringle are out for a considerable time, the team may have no choice but to look for help at wide receiver.
Veteran free agents still available include Will Fuller, T.Y. Hilton, Cole Beasley, and Emmanuel Sanders, among others. This development is good news for those already on the roster. Names like Dazz Newsome, Tajae Sharpe, David Moore, and Dante Pettis are battling for roster spots. They now have a window of opportunity to make a positive impression on the coaching staff. Details on the injuries should surface in the next 24-48 hours.
This reinforces how active the Bears will likely be at wide receiver next off-season if nothing else.
The Bears need talented depth at the WR position.
A few injuries are worth it. Practice hard, play hard. Heal up and get back in there. Nagy’s soft approach does not work. Don’t want a spoiled candya$$ team. Hit somebody.
Injuries are always a part of the off-season, OTAs, training camps, and pre-season. Players and coaches alike expect a certain degree of injuries, the question is never the injury until it hits the starter and carries over into the season. Every team, every season, and every game comes with an acceptable degree of injury, that is why it is always ‘next man up’ in successful organizations.
Funny checking to see how many homers I triggered by being truthful haha I stand by my post but it wasnt an insult it was just the truth just like most of you will being crying why was he playing in pre season when someone big gets hurt this preseason and my prediction is in 2-3 years everyone will be crying Flus is to tough like most of you did to Thibs
It looks like Pringle will be back for the season opener, still dont know much about Harry. Anyone who blames conditioning work for injuries is looking at it from a glass half full point of view. Injuries happen in training camp all the time. In 2021 the same types of injuries hit the bears secondary. Nagy’s camp was cream puff city.
The glass half full point of view says that after the Bears losing games in the 3rd and 4th quarter from being out of gas, conditioning was needed.