The Chicago Bears kicked off mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, but they were still without several key players including one of their top rookies.
Head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after practice that “everyone was in the building.” But on the practice field was a different story as the team was without top defensive players in cornerback Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards, as well as rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Gordon, Edwards and Burden are all dealing with soft tissue injuries. Burden has been sidelined since after rookie minicamp and the start of OTAs while Gordon and Edwards missed last week’s OTAs.
According to Zack Pearson, the following players weren’t on the practice field: Gordon, Edwards, Burden, left tackle Braxton Jones, tight end Colston Loveland, cornerback Terell Smith, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, offensive lineman Ryan Bates, tight end Stephen Carlson and defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.
Injuries are part of the NFL world, obviously, but in Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach, the Bears have to work to get their key players on both sides of the ball as healthy as possible. That could mean the team is cautious with how they handle player injuries in the offseason, just to assure that they’ll have as much of their starting roster as possible once preseason and the regular season begin.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears still without prominent players as minicamp begins
Reporting by Mike Pendleton, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
