The Chicago Bears defense has already endured its fair share of tough injuries. Akiem Hicks has been out for two months with an elbow injury. Danny Trevathan suffered one of his own that has kept him out for weeks. Prince Amukamara couldn’t go against Dallas due to a hamstring issue. Now their problems have gotten even worse. In the 1st quarter of the Cowboys game, inside linebacker Roquan Smith was seen headed to the locker room after a brief visit to the injury tent.
Not long after that, the linebacker was declared out for the rest of the game. Never a good sign. What made it even worse is the injury was listed as a pectoral. For those who have followed football long enough, pectorals are usually tears of some kind and this means a player is done for the season. If this is indeed the case for Chicago, the timing could not be worse. Smith was playing the best football of his career with 30 tackles and two sacks in the past three games.
Chicago Bears defense must soldier on without him
If Smith is indeed done for the year, the Bears can’t afford to mourn the loss. They must move forward. The good news is Hicks is due back next week in Green Bay. His addition to the front will be of monumental help for them. Trevathan is also not going on IR, which leads one to think he could be back before the season ends too. Either way, it’s hard not to feel bad for the second-year linebacker who was just starting to play his way into the Pro Bowl conversation.
Hopefully the injury isn’t that bad but if it is, he’ll be back 100% for next season. If he continues to look like the player he was in November? The Bears defense will have their centerpiece for the next several years.
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