Chicago Bears: Rookie getting thrown into fire with Kyler Gordon problem

The Chicago Bears will enter their first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday with the longest of injuries in the secondary at receiver.

The Bears have been dealing with concerns at cornerback since before training camp, with cornerback Kyler Gordon dealing with a soft-tissue injury this spring that continued when he came into practices this summer on the active/PUP list.

Chicago is now down Coby Bryant for a significant amount of time, though head coach Ben Johnson won’t confirm an eight- to 10-week timeline. Cam Lewis, who filled in for Gordon at nickel and Bryant at safety, suffered an injury on Saturday.

Per Courtney Cronin of ESPN, fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad worked with the first-team defense at nickel on Sunday. Muhammad appears to be above Josh Blackwell and Jaylon Jones on the depth chart.

The Bears are putting the rookie in the fire in training camp, and could be asked to play a difficult position with Gordon sidelined.

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The Chicago Bears could play Malik Muhammad early

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Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen noted that opposing quarterbacks would challenge Muhammad early in  the regular season.

“The biggest challenge you’ve got is you got a big bull’s-eye on your back and they’re (opposing quarterbacks) going to be challenging you,” Allen said. “They’re going to be coming after you.

“The best corners have really short memories because everybody at some point in time has been beaten, and so it’s just can you come back the next play and have the same mentality in terms of how you challenge and how you compete, and he’s shown that he’s got the ability to do that.”

Starting Muhammad in Week 1 against a motivated Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers would not be ideal. But it’s encouraging that the Bears think the second-team All-SEC cornerback from Texas has the mentality to play the position.

With that being said, Allen would be better served by having Gordon back on the field. Last spring, Allen was excited about the potential Gordon had for his defense, but that skillset has been on the sideline too often.

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