NEWSLETTER
The injury bug – even in preseason – is relentless.
An injury update regarding Chicago Bears tight end Adam Shaheen wasn’t as promising as what was initially reported on Sunday. And because today is just one of those days, there is more injury news to report regarding two of the team’s most talented defensive players.
Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Smith’s practice was cut short due to “slight tightness” in the left hamstring. Additionally, Bears Radio sideline reporter Mark Grote reports defensive end Akiem Hicks sat out practice because of a knee issue.
Hicks missed Saturday’s game against the Broncos because of a knee problem, but Head Coach Matt Nagy painted Hicks’ absence as precautionary. Fair enough. There’s no reason to play the team’s top defensive lineman and put him in harm’s way for the sake of a Preseason Week 2 game on the road. Nagy and the Bears want Hicks in a position to contribute in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, which is more important than any preseason game.
As for Smith’s absence, it also seems like it would fall in line with being a precautionary move. Campbell notes that it’s possible that Smith returns to practice on Wednesday, which would be a welcome sight considering the other injury news the team is dealing with right now. Smith missed the Bears’ entire training camp experience in Bourbonnais and two preseason games during his 29-day contract holdout. And while Smith returned to the practice field last week and participated with the team during its joint practices with the Broncos, the All-American linebacker from Georgia did not play in the team’s third preseason contest. That leaves Saturday’s showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as the August 30 finale against the Buffalo Bills.
Smith’s injury situation is less than ideal at this point, but at least inside linebacker is a position where the Bears have depth to fall back on. Danny Trevathan made his preseason debut on Saturday and Nick Kwiatkoski has quietly held on to the starting role that likely would have gone to Smith had he and his camp agreed to terms on a contract and reported to Bourbonnais in a timely fashion. Joel Iyiegbuniwe has also taken some quality snaps with the reserves during the preseason, so at least one rookie inside linebacker has shown something on the playing surface.
In the end, the Bears are wise to preach caution when it comes to Smith’s injury situation. Just as they were smart not to play him during last Saturday’s preseason game. In a regular season scenario, it’s possible that Smith would have practiced and not had any issues. But because it’s not a regular season situation, there is no need to push the envelope for a preseason game.
