Bears GM impressed with injured White's resolve
BOURBONNAIS - Back in April, Ryan Pace was overjoyed when he was able to select wide receiver Kevin White seventh overall with his first-ever draft pick as the Bears' new general manager.
Now, in the wake of his announcement that White will undergo surgery to repair small stress fractures in his left shin, Pace is even more impressed with his draft choice.
"You find out a lot about people in adverse situations," Pace said. "I mean this from the bottom of my heart - his character, his resolve, his dedication, the type of man that he is, has just been more confirmed to me through this process.
"I'm so glad he's here. I know he's going to be a great player for us. We just have to do the right thing right now to insure his long-term success, and for us, that's the surgery."
Since camp began, White has been pestering coaches to get back on the field. But he did his best to hide his disappointment after it was announced he'll miss at least the first six games on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and possibly the entire season. If he can't return by Week 11, White would move to the injured reserve list and be finished for the season, which is a possibility.
"It's tough, but things happen," he said. "It's the sport. It's not going to be all sunshine every day, so you've got to roll with the punches."
White has been universally praised by teammates and coaches for staying engaged while sidelined, immersing himself in the playbook and doing anything else he could to avoid falling behind the learning curve.
"I just do what I can," White said. "Stay in the loop, talk to Jay (Cutler), be around the vets, ask questions. Mentally just try to get prepared for when I do stuff on the field."
Coach John Fox was impressed just from the brief glimpses he got of White in the early part of the off-season, but now his optimism is on hold.
"He's going to be a heck of a football player," Fox said. "He's a great young man. It's unfortunate ... (but) we need to fix it long-term and get him ready to play his NFL career.
"It's hard. They want to play. It's in them to want to play this game, and it's no different with Kevin. He has a bright, bright future. We just have to get him healthy."
Because he'll be out a minimum of six weeks in the regular season and the Bears have a bye in Week 7, the earliest White could play in a game would be Nov. 1 at home against the Vikings. It'll be a long wait.
"I want to play," he said. "I want to go out there and be myself. I want to do it the right way. In that case, I would be out there playing now. But that's not the right thing to do. Hopefully I'll have a speedy recovery."
• Follow Bob's Bears and NFL reports on Twitter@BobLeGere.