The Chicago Bears suffered a brutal loss with safety Coby Bryant suffering a left knee injury that’s expected to sidelined him for 8-10 weeks, which means he would make his Bears debut, at earliest, in Week 3. With Chicago already thin in the secondary, they had to switch up their plans.
Veteran defensive back Cam Lewis, who was signed this offseason, was competing for the nickel cornerback job with Kyler Gordon sidelined with a soft tissue injury. But after Bryant suffered a left knee injury on Monday, Lewis was the one that took over for him alongside rookie Dillon Thieneman.
Before Tuesday’s training camp practice, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen told the media that Lewis will “focus more on the safety position now” after Bryant’s injury. With Lewis now effectively out of the nickel race, it’ll come down to Jaylon Jones (who’s been getting a bulk of the starting reps), as well as rookie Malik Muhammad and special teams ace Josh Blackwell before Gordon makes his return.
Chicago’s defensive back depth has been tested early during training camp with injuries to Bryant, as well as Gordon and safety Elijah Hicks, who started the summer on the physically unable to perform list and remain there through six practices.
The Bears need to get healthy and look to avoid what plagued the secondary last season, where injuries carried over into the regular season and had a significant impact.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: How Coby Bryant injury will impact Bears defensive back depth chart
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
