Coby Bryant’s injury could expose Ryan Poles and the defense

Injuries during training camp hit every NFL team at this time of the year. Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears began the second week of training camp and received some bad news.

Safety Coby Bryant, their prized free-agent addition, went down during a 1-on-1 rep vs tight end Cole Kmet. He was very emotional and upset, knowing he may have suffered a serious injury. Later, it was revealed that he will be out 8-10 weeks with a hyperextended knee, bone bruise, and small fracture.

And just like that, Ryan Poles is staring at a pressure point he didn’t anticipate.

Bryant’s injury put massive pressure on everyone on defense

The secondary is already stretched thin with nickelback Kyler Gordon beginning training camp on the PUP list. Head coach Ben Johnson has already shown his patience with Gordon is very thin. This is because he missed a total of 14 games with multiple soft-tissue injuries.

Bryant was their big free agent signing to replace aging veteran Kevin Byard. A former cornerback, he has flexibility in where he can play in the secondary. This is something defensive coordinator Dennis Allen loves in his players.

Poles will likely have to bring in a veteran safety instead of adding another veteran pass rusher. The Bears aren’t in cap trouble right now. However, they’re in cap tension, thanks to the signing of Dayo Odeyingbo and veteran Grady Jarrett last season, with very little production from both players. Odeyingbo is coming off a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 9 of last season. Additionally, Shemar Turner is coming off a torn ACL in his right knee and started the training camp on the PUP list also.   

With Poles making no additions to bolster their anemic pass rush in the off-season, he is betting on internal development, particularly Austin Booker. In addition, he is also betting on coaches to get the most out of them. Allen admitted he needs to do much better. And now, Allen is facing pressure to get the most out of his players with very little help from Poles.

As if that wasn’t enough, two cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson, both spent time talking about their contract situations. Johnson admitted he is looking for another big payday this upcoming season. On the other hand, Stevenson is more focused on improving his on-field execution rather than worrying about it now.

If the pass rush doesn’t improve, however, it puts significant pressure on the entire secondary to avoid being exposed. That means rookie Dillon Thieneman must survive without Bryant’s veteran presence for a while.

While Monday’s news didn’t break the Bears, the pressure around the defense and the man responsible for building it did tighten more.

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