Bears’ injury situation improving
INDIANAPOLIS — The update on injured Bears is positive for the most part, but some questions remain.
Johnny Knox’s back injury is the most serious, and it’s still uncertain whether he will be 100 percent by the start of training camp. He’s doing light workouts but still wearing a back brace for at least another couple weeks. Most of the others will be back to full strength in time for off-season workouts.
“Jay Cutler’s thumb is fine,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said of the injury that sidelined the quarterback for the final six weeks last season. “Brian Urlacher (sprained knee in Week 17) is in perfect health right now, so I just don’t think that will be an issue.”
Offensive tackle Gabe Carimi continues to rehab after the knee injury and later surgery that limited his rookie season to two games. Smith hopes to have him for the off-season program, but the lack of certainty leaves room for doubt.
“I don’t know exactly when Gabe will be ready right now off the top of my head,” Smith said. “I just know I see him working every day working and everything is going as planned.”
Long-snapper Patrick Mannelly is in the early stages of rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in Week 11.
Smith again dismissed any notion about the Bears’ defense getting too old.
“Just look at what those guys have done,” Smith said. “I’ve heard that about Lance Briggs (31) getting older, Brian Urlacher (33) Julius Peppers (32), Charles Tillman (31). All four of those guys were in the Pro Bowl this year. We have other concerns; that’s not one of them.”
Moving on:Lovie Smith had not spoken publicly about the January firing of general manager Jerry Angelo, the man who hired him in 2004, until the Scouting Combine.#147;We know in our profession what#146;s at stake always, and changes can happen at any time,#148; Smith said. #147;I#146;m here primarily because of what Jerry Angelo did for me, giving me an opportunity, leading the charge to give me the opportunity to be the head football coach here. I can#146;t necessarily say (I#146;m) surprised (about the firing). I don#146;t think any coach or G.M. in the league is surprised about anything that happens. #147;Jerry did an awful lot for us, but you move on, and that#146;s what we#146;ve done. Jerry will be fine. He#146;s a lifetime friend, but you do move on.#148;Coming up small:The Bears were 7-3 last year when Jay Cutler went out for the season with a fractured thumb. Three weeks later, at a time when he was leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage, running back Matt Forte suffered a season-ending sprained knee.After losing Cutler, the Bears lost five straight and limped home at 8-8.#147;I think most of the teams that didn#146;t go to the playoffs, we have an excuse for why we didn#146;t make it there,#148; Lovie Smith said. #147;But that was a pretty good football team, and I thought we#146;d be able to handle that situation better.#148;Good man gone: Sunday#146;s release of nose tackle Anthony Adams wasn#146;t a surprise given his limited role last season, when he had a career-low 17 tackles and was inactive in five of the last nine games.The 31-year-old Adams fell behind younger tackles Matt Toeaina, Henry Melton, unrestricted free agent Amobi Okoye and rookie Stephen Paea in the Bears#146; defensive tackle rotation. Adams started four games last season after starting all 16 a year earlier and a total of 36 in his four previous seasons with the Bears.The early release will give Adams a better opportunity to hook up with a new team ahead of the unrestricted free agency period, which begins March 13.A tweet from Toeaina #8212; #147;Jealous of the next locker room u go to bro,#148; #8212; summed up how teammates and just about everyone else who encountered Adams felt about the 6-foot, 310-pound Penn State product.Getting along:Lovie Smith should be more involved in pro personnel decisions, given that new G.M. Phil Emery#146;s area of expertise is in college scouting, but Smith says that#146;s not much of an adjustment.#147;I was involved in the past,#148; he said. #147;(But) Phil is my boss. I worked together well with Jerry (Angelo) in the past and will do the same thing with Phil. There are a lot of things we have going on right now, but we#146;re excited about getting the perfect mix on that 53-man roster. #147;Phil has jumped in right now and again he knows quite a bit about our organization to start off with. I#146;m just pleased with how it#146;s initially gone.#148;