Lance Briggs placed on injured reserve

The Chicago Bears have dealt with several injuries on the defensive side of the ball this season, and one of the toughest ones has been an injury to Lance Briggs, who played in just nine games last season and has missed a few games this year due to injury. He was expected to be out for a few more weeks with a groin injury, but that timeline was more than a bit optimistic.

According to the Bears official Twitter account, the team has placed Briggs on the injured reserved with a groin injury, thus ending the franchise icon’s season. It looks like Briggs could end his tenure with the Bears on the IR, too, since he stated earlier this month that this is probably his last hurrah with the Bears organization. He’s set to hit the free agent waters next season, and he isn’t expecting Phil Emery, who might not even be the GM at that point, and the organization to give him an offer.

Briggs finishes the 2014 season with just eight games played, 35 tackles, a pick, and three passes defended. At 33, Briggs is still a useful linebacker in this league and brings solid run defense and leadership chops to the table, so he definitely deserves a starting gig somewhere if the Bears don’t decide to bring him back. But since he hasn’t been able to stay healthy in the past two seasons after previously being a model of health, it’s fair to wonder how much Briggs can contribute to a prospective suitor.