Lamarr Houston tears ACL after celebration

Detroit Lions star linebacker Stephen Tulloch became the brunt of some incredibly classless jokes when he tore his ACL after celebrating, and it was an incident reminiscent of what once befell former kicker Bill Gramatica. Tulloch isn’t the only player to suffer a serious, season-ending injury as a result of a celebration, as the same thing has happened to Chicago Bears defensive end Lamarr Houston, who had also grown frustrated with the Bears losing after signing with the playoff contenders in the offseason in order to leave the Oakland Raiders.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter, among others, is reporting that Houston has indeed torn his ACL and will be out for the season. It’s a huge blow for the Bears defense, which has been one of the worst in the NFL for the second straight year. Houston, Jared Allen, and Willie Young were three big signings made by GM Phil Emery in the offseason in order to bolster the Bears defense, and the defensive line has played well as a result, largely thanks to the efforts of Young. Houston’s injury hurts the Bears run defense and puts even more pressure on one of the NFL’s worst secondaries.

Although Houston only recorded 11 tackles and a sack before the injury, he was playing at a decent level, showing off his usual quality against the run and recording more pressure than the sacks indicate. That said, he didn’t quite have the desired impact, as he didn’t dominate in the running game.