Amid uncertainty surrounding Coby Bryant’s knee injury, Chicago bolsters its secondary by signing a veteran safety to stabilize a defensive unit undergoing significant offseason personnel shifts.
The Chicago Bears were dealt unfortunate injury news regarding safety Coby Bryant.
He hasn't even played a snap for the team yet, and he has already gone down with an injury. On Aug. 3, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Bryant had suffered a hyperextended knee at practice and was expected to miss 8-10 weeks.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson was asked about that timeline at a recent press conference and sounded confused, as he wasn't sure where reporters got that information from.
"I don't know where you guys got that," Johnson said. "Yeah, hasn't been said here. So, I'll let you know guys know whenever we know for sure what it looks like for him."
The Bears had the tough task of replacing both starting safeties from last year this offseason. Kevin Byard departed for the New England Patriots to reunite with former HC Mike Vrabel. Jaquan Brisker is back in his home state to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Regardless of how long Bryant is going to be out, the Bears aren't wasting any time. The Bears Communications account on X shared that the franchise had signed safety Xavier Woods and placed defensive back Dallis Flowers on the reserve/injured list.
Flowers was mainly a practice-squad player for the Bears last season. He only appeared in one regular-season game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, recording one total tackle.
Flowers has been dealing with a serious right leg injury that he suffered during a training camp practice. He had to be helped off the field because of the severity of the injury.
Woods started his NFL career with the Cowboys in 2017. He played in four games with one start before securing the starting role in 2018. He was with the Cowboys from 2017-2020 and wasn't awarded a second contract, so he joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2021.
Woods played for the Vikings for one year and then joined the Carolina Panthers from 2022-24.
He played for the Tennessee Titans last year, appearing in 11 games with 10 starts. He missed time due to a hamstring injury late in the year. He accounted for two interceptions and 39 total tackles last season.
At the end of the day, Woods is nothing more than a depth move for the Bears, who still have plenty of time before the regular season starts on Sept. 13. There should be no cause for alarm with Bryant, as this is just a precautionary move and nothing more.
