Chicago Bears: 5 Takeaways from training camp so far
4. How concerning is the situation at tight end?
When the Chicago Bears signed Trey Burton last offseason, they had a vision of a double tight end formation with Adam Shaheen that would wreak havoc on opposing secondaries. Having two big, athletic tight ends who run good routes and have good hands playing on the field together opens up space for everyone else.
It is especially great in the red zone since it helps quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. If the defense doubles one guy, he could go to the other or go to one of the bigger wide receivers. It opens up the playbook so much.
The problem is, they weren’t able to play together much. Shaheen suffered an injury and only played in six games, catching just five passes. Then, just before the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Burton suffered an injury himself and didn’t play in that game.
The Bears hoped that this offseason both players would heal and be ready to go. Then the injury bug hit Shaheen again. He’s already missed several practices and is behind in the offensive plans. At the same time, the Bears are being careful with Burton. He underwent sports hernia surgery in the offseason and missed minicamps. Now he’s missed four straight practices (as of Aug. 6).
There isn’t much help on the roster after the two starters. The Bears have Ben Braunecker but he only has seven career receptions. Additionally, they have Bradley Sowell, a converted offensive lineman who is just a project, and Dax Raymond, an undrafted rookie free agent signee.
The Bears are in a tough situation. They say they’re just giving the players time off so they could be ready at 100 percent on Week 1, but what if their injuries carry over?
Shaheen was supposedly in the best condition of his career and then he suddenly had lower back pain that knocked him out for a prolonged period. Burton was supposed to start camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list but was healthy at the start. Now they’re restricting his time. Maybe they should’ve kept him on the last for a little while so he could really be healthy and participate fully.
Also, what if we find that those injuries are more serious than first thought? Wouldn’t be the first time that happened in Chicago. Then the team would have to scramble to look for replacements and end up with someone rejected from another team.
It’s still early, though, so let’s see if Burton and Shaheen recover and perform to their abilities as camp and the preseason progresses. It’s worth monitoring, however.