Chicago Bears WR Luther Burden III will reportedly miss the preseason — but aims for Week 1 return

Chicago Bears second-year receiver Luther Burden III is expected to miss the preseason due to a strained groin he suffered Saturday in practice, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The expectation is that Burden will be back in time for the Sept. 13 season opener against the Carolina Panthers, according to Schefter.

Burden injured his groin after getting tangled up with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in a one-on-one drill Saturday. Both players landed hard on the ground. Stevenson grabbed at his lower back and was down on the field for several minutes, although he did return to practice. Burden limped off with a trainer and did not return.

A day later, rookie third-round pick Zavion Thomas exited Sunday’s practice with an apparent injury too. With Burden and Thomas out on Sunday, receivers Rome Odunze, Kalif Raymond and Jahdae Walker saw a lot of action with the starters on offense.

Burden, the 39th draft pick a year ago, is expected to take on a bigger role after he came on strong toward the end of his rookie season. Then the Bears traded away DJ Moore in March, opening up significant playing time at receiver.

Coach Ben Johnson said in the spring that he was “ buying Luther Burden stock.” Johnson and his staff have worked hard with Burden to expand his route tree and make him a more versatile part of the offense.

Based on what the coaches have said and what the team has done in practice over the first two weeks of training camp, Burden looked poised to be heavily involved in the offense.

But now, after the injury, Bears fans will have to wait until the regular season to see it. The team has its preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday at Soldier Field. The Bears also play at the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 22 and at the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 29.

Johnson has not given any indication yet of how much his starters will play in the preseason.

“Obviously, we need all these guys to be as healthy as we possibly can going into the season,” Johnson said last week. “It’s a long year, but at the same time we need to make sure that we’re prepped and we’re ready also. We’re looking at numbers. We’ve got sports science data, the number of reps that we’re getting, the quality of the reps that we’re getting. It all goes into it.”

Johnson has not addressed the Burden injury publicly. The coach is scheduled to speak with the media again Tuesday.