Chicago Bears: Brian Urlacher's Knee Injury Might be Worse Than Initially Thought

By Bear Heiser
Senior Writer

Brian Urlacher hasn’t practiced in almost two weeks due to a knee injury. Head coach Lovie Smith has been adamant about the severity of the injury, saying that it’s not serious and that Urlacher is only resting the knee.

Smith’s explanation seemed legitimate, mostly because the team didn’t appear to be panicking. General manager Phil Emery hadn’t signed any free agent linebackers to fill Urlacher’s role, as would be expected if the injury was indeed more serious.

But that all changed on Saturday when the team inked linebackers Xavier Adibi and K.C. Asiodu. Adibi is a fourth round 2008 draft pick who has spent time in Houston and Minnesota. He was cut from the Texans when the team switched from the 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Asiodu was out of football last season after spending time with St. Louis and New Orleans in 2010.

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Who the Bears signed isn’t really that important. The team has some nice depth at the position with Lance Briggs, Nick Roach, (who would be Urlacher’s replacement), Geno Hayes and Dom DeCiccio. If things really got bad, 2012 first-round pick Shea McClellin could always move from defensive end—there are already quite a few out there who think McClellin is destined to be a linebacker.

What’s important is the timing of the signings. After having been with the team while being unable to practice, Urlacher wasn’t with the team on three consecutive days last week. The team said Urlacher wasn’t at camp because of personal reasons. Urlacher hasn’t gone to see any doctors, to our knowledge, so it leads one to wonder if team doctors learned something new about the health of Urlacher’s knee.

After Saturday’s practice, Smith still rode the same company line saying, “Brian Urlacher is back after he’s taken care of some business.

“It’s good to get him back on the practice field even though he’s not practicing yet. He still has some soreness with the knee. Exactly when he’ll be back I can’t tell you that. But it’s good to get him back here.”

Related: Chicago Bears: Brian Urlacher’s Knee is Definitely a Concern, But There’s Still Plenty of Time for Healing

It’s been an interesting training camp for Urlacher, to say the least. In early July, he told the media that he had only just began running, but that he was confident he could get back to full strength by training camp.

So it’s not like anyone expected him to be back on the practice field day in and day out. Nobody would have said a word if he were to have practiced two days and then taken one off. But the consistency of his absence and the appearance of secrecy from the team looks like the start of a red flag.

Much of the success of the Bears’ defense will rely on Urlacher’s ability to stay on the field. But if Bears’ fans need a silver lining, at least Roach has time to get reps with the first unit well before the season starts, if Urlacher isn’t able to go.

Bears’ fans don’t need a silver lining, though; they need their future Hall of Fame linebacker back on the field, as soon as possible.

Stay tuned to for more on the health of Urlacher’s knee.

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