The Chicago Bears got another brutal training camp update on Tuesday, and this one changes the picture in the secondary.
Before practice, head coach Ben Johnson said safety Coby Bryant had surgery on his knee and will be sidelined for four to six months. The hope, according to Johnson, is that Bryant could still make it back before the end of the regular season.
That is a much different timeline than the one the Bears were working with last week, when Bryant was carted off the field after getting hurt in practice and the expectation was that he would miss only the first month of the season. Chicago signed him to a three-year, $40 million contract in the offseason, making the setback even tougher to absorb.
The Bears have already moved to fill the void. Xavier Woods was added in free agency last week and is expected to step into the starting lineup. He has already given the team a quick jolt, picking off a pass in his second practice of training camp.
Chicago can also lean on Dillon Thieneman at safety. Even as a rookie, Thieneman brings a college résumé built on production, versatility and playmaking. That gives the Bears at least one more option while Bryant works his way back.
The loss stings because Bryant had been showing the kind of leadership the Bears wanted on the back end, along with the coverage skills that make a difference at safety. His ability to track the ball and diagnose plays was part of what made him such a strong fit.
And for a team that has already seen Luther Burden, Montez Sweat, Braxton Jones, Kyler Gordon and others get dinged up, this is another hit the Bears did not need.
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