Early surprise for Chicago Bears: Trevathan back on field
BOURBONNAIS - For the first time in recent memory, there is some good news for the Chicago Bears on the injury front.
And it involves a player who many assumed would not only begin training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list but remain there for the first six weeks of the regular season.
Instead, inside linebacker Danny Trevathan was on the field Thursday morning for the first practice of training camp, albeit in a limited fashion.
He must avoid any setbacks to his surgical knee and his progress may not continue at such a rapid rate, but Trevathan said he could be ready for the regular-season opener.
"It's very important to him," said Bears coach John Fox, who, as Denver Broncos head coach from 2011-14, developed a fondness for Trevathan. "Obviously not playing or being able to help the team is hurtful to a guy who has a lot of pride.
"(But) he's way ahead of schedule. He's worked his fanny off to get back and get ready. We're all very happy to see him out there."
Trevathan, heading into his sixth NFL season, suffered a ruptured right patellar tendon in Week 12, ending a hugely disappointing first season with the Bears.
He was lured away from Denver in the off-season after the Broncos won the Super Bowl following the 2015 season.
The Bears gave him a four-year, $24.5 million deal in free agency that included a $5 million signing bonus and $12 million in guarantees. The anticipation being that he would become the heart and soul of a defense in need of a leader.
But one week after a 12-tackle, 1-sack performance in the 2016 season opener, the 6-foot-1, 239-pound Trevathan suffered a fractured thumb.
Proving his toughness, commitment and lead-by-example attitude, he missed just two games, returning to play with a cast for the next several weeks.
Just when Trevathan was getting back to peak performance, and on the heels of back-to-back games of 14 and 11 tackles, the knee injury ended his season.
No one was more disappointed than Trevathan.
That memory serves as kindling for the fire that now burns within the former sixth-round pick (188th overall) out of Kentucky, who rose from special-teams player to become the leading tackler on a Super Bowl champion.
He said he may have enjoyed the spoils of that season a bit too much, which could have factored into 2016. But he's only looking forward now.
"I know I'm ahead of schedule," he said. "I can run. I can cut. I can play football as fast as I used to, maybe even faster.
"I came back with a lot more juice just because I knew I didn't play as well as I could last year. That made me humble, that made me more motivated. When I'm ready to work, I'm going to work, and there's nobody that can stop me."
Despite missing seven full games and parts of two others last year, Trevathan was third on the Bears with 73 tackles.
He's looking to come back even better than he was in 2015, when he had 109 tackles, and in 2013, when he had 125 hits on a Broncos team that lost in the Super Bowl.
"The great ones come back from injuries," said Trevathan, who suffered a similar injury to his left knee in 2014 but came back to help win a world championship. "Me being out here was a step toward that, going out here and helping my team be better and win some more games.
"I didn't do as well as I thought I would last year - (in a) new scheme. I can make a lot of excuses. But that's not the type of person I am. I'm here to make this team better. They brought me here to help win some championships."
Trevathan is so hyped up over his early return that coaches have to remind him not to overdo it. Still, he already feels as if there's very little he can't do.
"I can't play quarterback," he said. "But there's nothing I really can't do right now. It's just all about being smart and getting to the regular season."
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