Bears’ $40M free-agent signing avoids serious knee injury after scare

Coby Bryant’s Chicago Bears tenure is not off to the start he wished, as he was emotional after being carted off the training camp field during Monday’s practice.

There is a bright side to Bryant’s situation, though, despite needing to miss time.

Bryant was very upset as he got himself onto the cart after suffering a knee injury, expecting the worst just days into his Bears career one season after winning the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.

Bryant was facing tight end Cole Kmet during a 1-on-1 drill where he went down and immediately clutched at his leg. But Bryant’s injury got a better diagnosis than he initially believed.

It won’t be season-ending for Bryant, as ESPN reported the safety will miss eight-to-10 weeks after suffering a hyperextended knee, bone bruise and small fracture.

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Bryant signed a three-year, $40 million deal to join the Bears this offseason, bolstering a secondary that was overhauled following multiple departures.

He figured to be a mainstay after proving his worth with the Seahawks during his rookie deal, where he tallied seven interceptions and helped his team win the Super Bowl.

Bryant may not be available during Week 1, but since that’s five weeks away, he shouldn’t be gone for long when the regular season finally kicks off.

“It always sucks to see,” second-year tight end Colston Loveland said about Bryant’s injury, per the New York Post. “That’s part of it. You know, he’s tough, he’s a dog. He’s going to be fine.”

As Bryant will attack rehab, the Bears’ depth chart will be tested. They spent their first-round draft selection on Oregon standout safety Dillon Thieneman, who was always considered the team’s starting free safety next to Bryant. But Cam Lewis, who was at slot cornerback after Kyler Gordon suffered a previous injury, will likely move to safety to fill the gap there.

Lewis is another free agent signee for the Bears, who lost Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Nahshon Wright, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jonathan Owens this offseason. Lewis spent the past six seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

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This is the time of year when teams are hoping for health, but the NFL knows all too well that depth determines just how far a team goes come February.

The Bears are feeling that early on, but they won’t have to go the entire season without a main free agent addition during the 2026 NFL season.

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