At 6-6 and 270 pounds, you can’t miss Adam Shaheen when he’s on the field. But it cuts both ways, as it is also quite noticeable when No. 87 is not on the field, which was the case on Sunday. And now we know why Shaheen was missing out on the action.
Adam Shaheen has a sore lower back, Matt Nagy said. He didn’t practice today.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) July 28, 2019
Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy told reporters Shaheen has a sore lower back that kept him off the practice field on Sunday. It’s the latest injury in what has been a star-crossed career for Shaheen to this point.
As a rookie, Shaheen missed the season’s final three games because of a chest injury suffered in a late-season game against the Bengals. A year later, Shaheen missed 10 games due to foot/ankle injuries that occurred in a preseason game that placed him on injured reserve to start the season, then suffered a concussion on while catching a two-point conversion against the Vikings in his first game back. The 2019 season was supposed to offer Shaheen a clean slate, but a sore back early in camp will not help matters.
The Bears have eight players listed as tight ends on their current roster, which makes for a crowded position room. And when a player gets injured, it also makes for opportunities that could be had by any number of players. Ben Braunecker, Ian Bunting, Jesper Horsted, Dax Raymond, Ellis Richardson, and Bradley Sowell could take advantage of additional reps that could come their way if Shaheen’s injury sidelines him for an extended period.
We discussed the tight ends room last week during our positional preview, and noted that group was full of question marks. Now that Shaheen is already battling an injury, we could add another to the list. Then again, perhaps one of the players behind him on the depth chart could play their way into being an answer.
But still … it would be nice if the Bears’ 2017 second-round pick could stay healthy enough to possibly play to his potential. After all, four of his 17 catches have gone for touchdowns and it would be nice to have another certifiable target for Mitch Trubisky to throw to in the red-zone.
With that in mind, let’s keep an eye on Shaheen’s practice time as camp moves along.