Bears confirm worst possible news for a key depth player in the secondary, but the injury opens the door for another player to step up
Next man up.
Throughout training camp and the first two preseason games, the Chicago Bears cornerback room has been hit with multiple injuries and the most significant one just got confirmed by head coach Ben Johnson.
Third-year cornerback Terell Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday after going down while defending Bills wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson.
Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs added Smith tore his patellar tendon in his left knee and will soon undergo surgery to repair the injury.
“I thought he was making a lot of progress,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said on Tuesday while speaking with reporters. “The injury’s an unfortunate situation. He’s a quiet guy, but he comes to work every day and does his job. He’s been good for us to work with.”
Smith’s injury is a massive blow to the depth of the cornerback room, a position that started out looking strong when training camp opened just a few weeks ago. Since then, Jaylon Johnson has been dealing with a leg injury, Kyler Gordon has been nursing a hamstring injury, and three other defensive backs were waived or placed on the injured reserve.
The NFL is always a next-man-up world and the Bears now need to identify which players to carry as depth options at the position going into the regular season. Nahshon Wright and Tyrique Stevenson are roster locks at this point behind Johnson and Gordon with Josh Blackwell having a safe path as well as the backup nickel and as a special teams contributor.
One player who has an open door to land a final roster spot following Smith’s season-ending injury is journeyman Nick McCloud, who has continued to impress the staff throughout the summer.
“Here’s a guy, who in the spring, I wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to be,” Allen said on July 30th. “But, he’s come back in great shape. He understands the defense. He’s doing all the things that [defensive backs coach Al Harris] is coaching him to do, which is allowing him to be successful.”
Throughout camp and the preseason, Allen has used McCloud on the outside and in the slot, clearly valuing the versatility aspect he can bring to his game, which is key for a backup player on the roster.
“Anytime you can have guys that have versatility, that can play multiple positions, it give us the flexibility to do a lot of different things,” Allen added. “When you go into a game, and you’ve got 48 guys dressed on game day, guys that can play multiple spots it allows you to put the best 11 on the field. I think being able to cross-train players is going to pay off and pay benefits for us.”
McCloud will now have a big opportunity to make a strong impact on Friday against the Kansas City Chiefs to prove why he should deserve one of the final roster spots on this team.
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