Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 17:47:00 GMT -6
Bears provide injury updates on Leonard Floyd, Cameron Meredith, Kyle Long
Colleen KaneColleen KaneContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-injuries-leonard-floyd-20180103-story.html
Bears general manager Ryan Pace counts injury prevention among the things team leaders have to address as they head into the offseason.
The Bears finished the year with 16 players on injured reserve, and one player, safety Deiondre Hall, who returned to the 53-man roster from IR.
Those numbers aren’t much better than 2016, when they finished with 19 players on IR. On Monday, Pace noted they made tweaks to their training schedule and how they track data.
“But it wasn’t enough,” he said. “With parity in our league, injuries play a big factor in our results. It’s something we have to get on top of, and that’s my job. There’s going to be studies into — why are these teams the healthiest, why are these teams not, and are there some commonalties? But we have to get that fixed because it’s affecting our results.”
Monday’s events at Halas Hall provided the chance to catch up with a couple of the players whom the Bears didn’t make available to the media while they were on IR. Here’s what we learned.
Pace said the Bears are “by no means” concerned about Leonard Floyd’s recovery.
Floyd was walking around the locker room Monday with a large brace on his right knee. The second-year outside linebacker had November surgery after spraining the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his knee, but he said he didn’t know if he would be ready to return by the beginning of offseason workouts.
“He’s been here almost every day, and I feel very positive on that track that he’s on,” Pace said.
In his second season after the Bears drafted him No. 9 overall, Floyd totaled 34 tackles, 4 ½ sacks, two passes defended and a safety in 10 games. He said he thought he grew in “being more accountable, knowing where I’ve got to be within the defense and just being a better teammate, talking more.” After he was injured, he said he was told “to stick as close to football as I could,” so he spent a lot of time watching film.
“It was tough, but it was also a humbling experience,” Floyd said. “Getting time to really sit down and study myself, study what I was doing when I was playing.”
Wide receiver Cameron Meredith expects to be “100 percent” by training camp.
Meredith was the Bears’ top returning wide receiver when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the third exhibition game.
After totaling 66 catches for 888 yards in 2016, he spent the last four months around Halas Hall on the outside looking in at the team.
“It’s extremely tough just not being around the guys, not being able to be in the mix, to play the game that I love to play,” Meredith said. “Each day you’ve just got to cherish it. I learned to do that more and more now that I’m out. Less things are taken for granted. It’s been a long process mentally and physically.”
Meredith is a restricted free agent this offseason, but he already was talking about getting together with quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the offseason to develop their chemistry.
He said he has been doing a little running and is working to get his strength back in his legs. He didn’t reveal a target date for a return but said he’d be ready by camp.
“Right now it’s all about the strength work, getting the knee flexion and stuff like that,” he said. “So it’s all coming right on schedule, and I’m excited about that.”
Pace said the Bears don’t see any long-term effects from Kyle Long’s neck surgery.
Long revealed on social media last month that he had neck surgery and indicated he was facing two more surgeries this year. Pace said surgery on Long’s left shoulder is being discussed after the Bears offensive lineman played this season with a torn labrum. He also dealt with a hand injury.
“He’s dealing with a variety of injuries now,” Pace said. “He’s kind of knocking those out one by one. I think he addressed that. But we’re confident in the direction he’s headed.”
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribkane
Colleen KaneColleen KaneContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-injuries-leonard-floyd-20180103-story.html
Bears general manager Ryan Pace counts injury prevention among the things team leaders have to address as they head into the offseason.
The Bears finished the year with 16 players on injured reserve, and one player, safety Deiondre Hall, who returned to the 53-man roster from IR.
Those numbers aren’t much better than 2016, when they finished with 19 players on IR. On Monday, Pace noted they made tweaks to their training schedule and how they track data.
“But it wasn’t enough,” he said. “With parity in our league, injuries play a big factor in our results. It’s something we have to get on top of, and that’s my job. There’s going to be studies into — why are these teams the healthiest, why are these teams not, and are there some commonalties? But we have to get that fixed because it’s affecting our results.”
Monday’s events at Halas Hall provided the chance to catch up with a couple of the players whom the Bears didn’t make available to the media while they were on IR. Here’s what we learned.
Pace said the Bears are “by no means” concerned about Leonard Floyd’s recovery.
Floyd was walking around the locker room Monday with a large brace on his right knee. The second-year outside linebacker had November surgery after spraining the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his knee, but he said he didn’t know if he would be ready to return by the beginning of offseason workouts.
“He’s been here almost every day, and I feel very positive on that track that he’s on,” Pace said.
In his second season after the Bears drafted him No. 9 overall, Floyd totaled 34 tackles, 4 ½ sacks, two passes defended and a safety in 10 games. He said he thought he grew in “being more accountable, knowing where I’ve got to be within the defense and just being a better teammate, talking more.” After he was injured, he said he was told “to stick as close to football as I could,” so he spent a lot of time watching film.
“It was tough, but it was also a humbling experience,” Floyd said. “Getting time to really sit down and study myself, study what I was doing when I was playing.”
Wide receiver Cameron Meredith expects to be “100 percent” by training camp.
Meredith was the Bears’ top returning wide receiver when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the third exhibition game.
After totaling 66 catches for 888 yards in 2016, he spent the last four months around Halas Hall on the outside looking in at the team.
“It’s extremely tough just not being around the guys, not being able to be in the mix, to play the game that I love to play,” Meredith said. “Each day you’ve just got to cherish it. I learned to do that more and more now that I’m out. Less things are taken for granted. It’s been a long process mentally and physically.”
Meredith is a restricted free agent this offseason, but he already was talking about getting together with quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the offseason to develop their chemistry.
He said he has been doing a little running and is working to get his strength back in his legs. He didn’t reveal a target date for a return but said he’d be ready by camp.
“Right now it’s all about the strength work, getting the knee flexion and stuff like that,” he said. “So it’s all coming right on schedule, and I’m excited about that.”
Pace said the Bears don’t see any long-term effects from Kyle Long’s neck surgery.
Long revealed on social media last month that he had neck surgery and indicated he was facing two more surgeries this year. Pace said surgery on Long’s left shoulder is being discussed after the Bears offensive lineman played this season with a torn labrum. He also dealt with a hand injury.
“He’s dealing with a variety of injuries now,” Pace said. “He’s kind of knocking those out one by one. I think he addressed that. But we’re confident in the direction he’s headed.”
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribkane