Chicago loses a cornerstone leader in Coby Bryant following a devastating training camp injury, forcing the defense to scramble for replacements as their $40 million safety begins a lengthy recovery.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson announced on Tuesday afternoon that starting safety Coby Bryant will be out four to six months after undergoing knee surgery on Friday
Bryant was injured during a 1-on-1 rep while covering tight end Cole Kmet on Aug. 3. ESPN's Adam Shefter reported that Bryant would be sidelined for 8-10 weeks and surgery wasn't expected.
Three days later after Bryant's injury, Johnson pushed back on the initial report, stating "I don't know where you guys got that. It hasn't been said here."
The Bears will be without one of its top leaders on defense and someone the team was looking forward to having on the field to help elevate Dennis Allen's defense.
"Coby's the template for how we all want our team to play. He was a big part of offense, defense and special teams. The mentality, the mindset, his approach. We loved everything about him. It certainly takes us back a little bit, but it also provides opportunities for other guys to fill that void. ..."
Filling that void hasn't been the smoothest process. Veteran defensive back Cam Lewis initially took over for Bryant, but he was injured in last Saturday's practice. The Bears signed veteran Xavier Woods, who has already taken reps with the first-team defense.
If the 4-6 month timeline is accurate, that would mean Bryant's return could be somewhere between December and February. Obviously the latter would mean the Bears have made a deep playoff run.
The Bears signed Bryant to a 3-year, $40 million contract this offseason. His leadership and experience was supposed to help first-round draft pick Dillon Thieneman navigate his rookie season, but the team will have to adjust without the veteran safety.
“Obviously it sucks to lose a guy like that for any particular time," Allen said last week. "And he's a big part of what we have planned to do and will still be a big part of what we have planned to do. But in all adversity also comes opportunity. So it'll be another opportunity for some other guys to step up, whether it be somebody in the safety room to step up and take on that role. Or some of our other guys in the room to step up and become the playmakers and the leaders for the defense. It's part of football. It's part of what you deal with, and you move on. So hopefully he'll be on the quicker end, and we'll get him back sooner rather than later.”
