Chicago Bears: Is it time to worry about Adam Shaheen already?
Chicago Bears tight end Adam Shaheen has gone through a number of injuries. He suffered another one early in training camp. Is it time to worry about him already?
When the Chicago Bears signed Trey Burton through free agency in 2018, they had visions of having a tough two tight end formation with him and Adam Shaheen similar to what the New England Patriots had with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Things haven’t worked out that way since Shaheen suffered a foot injury. He played in just six games and had only five catches.
This offseason, the Bears hoped that they could finally get the dynamic duo going. Burton had to have sports hernia surgery, however. He did get clearance before the start of training camp so hope was high. Then, Shaheen got hurt again. He made it through just three practices before his back started hurting. He then missed his last two (and counting) practices.
Is it time to worry about Shaheen already?
Shaheen has a lot of talent. He runs great routes and has soft hands. At 6-6, 270 pounds, he is a great red-zone target for quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Pairing him with Burton makes it even better for Trubisky. The problem is he missed 13 games in his two seasons in Chicago. Having all that talent doesn’t matter if he’s in the trainer’s room more than he is on the field.
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After Burton and Shaheen, the Bears are a little thin. Bradley Sowell is a popular player but he is a project (converting from offensive line this season) and you can’t really expect much from him right away. There is Ben Braunecker but he only has seven career catches. The Bears do like undrafted rookie free agent Dax Raymond, but it remains to be seen what if he could be more than just a place on the roster. Some wonder if the Bears go with five tight ends. They might have to if they want insurance for Shaheen.
A bad back is something that lasts with a player for a long while. Once you have it, you pretty much deal with it the rest of your career. We don’t know how serious it is yet, and head coach Matt Nagy isn’t too concerned, yet (per Pro Football Weekly):
"“I don’t think [Shaheen] is a little ways (away from returning), but again we’re being a little bit cautious. I think he definitely got better from yesterday, but we just feel like, again, today coming out here with the weather and where’s he’s at, it didn’t make sense for him to be out there…He is a big guy and he’s been working on his flexibility, but for us, I personally don’t look at it as too much of a concern.”"
Nagy and the Bears aren’t too concerned about this latest injury but we’ve seen where an injury thought of to be minor ended up cutting a player’s season short. Hopefully, that isn’t the case with Shaheen.
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If Shaheen wants to remain with the Bears, he needs a good season in 2019. This is the final season of his rookie deal, and if he wants a second contract with Chicago, the time is now. If he continues to deal with injuries this season, he can kiss his time here goodbye. If he continues to suffer through injuries in training camp, he may find the end of his career in Chicago ending sooner rather than later.