Four Bears players that have undergone offseason surgeries are expected to be ready before the start of training camp.
General manager Ryan Pace expects quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, linebacker Roquan Smith, tight end Trey Burton and receiver Anthony Miller will be able to practice without any limitations heading into training camp in late July.
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky recently underwent surgery on his left non-throwing shoulder. Trubisky suffered the injury in the first quarter of a Week 4 game against the Vikings. After missing one game, he played through the injury for the remainder of the season.
The recovery time for a minor procedure like this is a couple of months, which means that Trubisky should be ready for offseason workouts in April.
“Our expectation is as we get ramped up in the OTAs and minicamps, he’ll be good to go,” general manager Ryan Pace said this week at the NFL Combine.
Smith suffered a torn pectoral muscle in a Week 14 game against the Cowboys. At the time, Smith was playing some of his best football, which made his loss a deflating blow.
Pace expects Smith to return to form heading into the 2020 season.
“This is a fully recoverable thing for Roquan,” Pace said. “When he was healthy last year and playing right, you saw the player that we drafted and why we took him so high. Our outlook on him is very optimistic.”
Burton has struggled with injuries since joining the Bears. After suffering a hamstring injury prior to a playoff game last January, Burton dealt with hamstring and hip injuries in 2019, and he was placed on injured reserve to end a disappointing season.
Burton underwent surgery on his hip to fix an injury that affected him last season. Despite the disappointment with Burton, Pace is hoping for the best with him.
“It’s been positive,” Pace said. “Our hope is that we finally kind of solved the issue and that there’s an upward trajectory now with him. That’s our hope. We’ll see when the players get back in April [for the start of the offseason program].”
Then there’s Miller, who had surgery to repair his left shoulder for the second straight year. Miller injured his shoulder returning a kickoff in the Bears’ season finale against the Vikings.
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