Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant is facing an 8-10 week absence after suffering a hyperextended knee, a bone bruise and a small fracture during Monday’s training camp practice.
The good news for Bryant and the Bears is that surgery is not expected to be needed for any of the injuries. If his rehab goes well, he is projected to be back by Weeks 4-6 of the NFL season.
Bryant arrived in Chicago this offseason on a 3-year, $40 million deal, which made him the 13th-highest-paid safety in the league. Before that, he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with Seattle after the Seahawks drafted him No. 109 overall in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He also has a decorated college résumé at Cincinnati. In 2021, Bryant put together one of the best defensive seasons in Bearcats history, finishing with 44 tackles, 3 interceptions and 11 pass breakups. That year, Cincinnati went 13-0 in the regular season, won the AAC championship and earned a College Football Playoff berth.
Bryant’s awards that season matched the production: consensus First Team All-American, First Team All-AAC, AAC Defensive Player of the Year and winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the best defensive back in all of football. He did it while lining up alongside current NFL players Sauce Gardner and Bryan Cook.
Bryant was carted off the practice field today with an apparent knee injury, according to @AdamHoge. Adam Schefter reported that the Bears safety is expected to be sidelined 8-10 weeks and that no surgery is expected to be required.
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Sauce Gardner Just Added Another Honor Cincinnati Fans Will Love
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Gardner has already turned that college stardom into a decorated pro career, going fourth overall to the Jets in 2022, winning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and earning First-Team AP All-Pro honors in each of his first two seasons. Now with the Colts after a 2025 trade, he is set to open the 2026 season in Indianapolis, but for Cincinnati, honors like this are another reminder of just how high his Bearcats legacy still stands. [Read more 🡒]