When Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy confirmed cornerback Artie Burns left Tuesday’s practice with a knee injury, its severity was unknown.
Unfortunately for Burns and the Bears, it goes down as the first major injury of camp:
The former first-rounder hoped for a reboot in Chicago. Now, he’ll have surgery with his eyes on 2021. https://t.co/0dB0jMbH2U
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 18, 2020
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports Burns suffered a torn ACL. Burns will have surgery to repair the injury, which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
Burns, 25, signed a one-year “prove it” deal as a free agent in March. And while Burns’ signing wasn’t a high-profile addition, the Bears liked Burns enough to play him with the first-team defense during the first padded practice of the year. There was hope the Steelers’ 2016 first-round pick could grow into a post-hype sleeper. Instead, Burns will turn his attention to rehabilitation and a return in 2021.
As for the Bears, they will turn their attention to a cornerback competition between rookie Jaylon Johnson and third-year cornerback Kevin Toliver II.
Johnson was slowed during the ramp-up period as he recovered from offseason surgery. But with Burns out for the year, the hope is Johnson can step into that starting cornerback job right away. I suppose Toliver shouldn’t be overlooked in this competition, seeing that he has experience in this defense. And for what it’s worth, Logan Ryan remains a free agent. So it’s not as if the Bears are lacking for options. However, it would be surprising if the Bears didn’t turn to Johnson and push him into the starting role.
I’ll be curious to see how Nagy and the staff address the situation during the next media availability.