At some point, it has to be a concern for the Bears that their biggest offseason acquisition is sidelined by injury.
And while coach Matt Eberflus has stressed the importance of getting all of his players on the field, especially on the injury-besieged defense, he isn’t worried yet about linebacker Tremaine Edmunds missing time. He was still out of practice Monday, bringing his absence to 10 days.
Edmunds, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract to leave the Bills for the Bears in the offseason, is a vital part of the defense — essentially an extension of the coaching staff. Him being out not only costs him practice time, but it also keeps his teammates from getting used to taking direction from him.
“He’s doing everything he can do,” said Eberflus, who hasn’t said anything about the injury than that it doesn’t put his availability for the season in doubt. “He’s engaged in [meetings and practices] ... and we’re excited about where he is in terms of his mental side and command of the defense.”
Edmunds has had at least 100 tackles in each of his five seasons and has five interceptions, 6 ½ sacks and two forced fumbles.
He wasn’t the only one out. The defense also was still missing safety Jaquan Brisker, upstart rookie cornerback Terell Smith and defensive end DeMarcus Walker.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool remained out with the hamstring injury he suffered Wednesday.
Eberflus was unsure which players would be available for joint practices with the Colts this week or whether some of them would even travel to Indiana for those sessions and the preseason game Saturday, but maintained that none of the injuries are expected to last into the season, which begins Sept. 10.
“We feel good with where everybody is,” he said. “The guys doing the therapy and their rehab and all that, that’s all on track.
“As coaches, do we always want them back faster? Yeah, [but] that’s what we do. We’ve gotta make sure that they’re on track in terms of speeds in the pool, speeds on land, and their starts and stops are right, and then we start working them into practice.”
