Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant of Cleveland, Ohio will be out long term with a knee injury according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN on Monday. It is expected that Bryant will miss the first month of the season after injuring his knee during a one-on-one drill.
The injury to Bryant should lead to some questions. One must ask if players today should go all out during training camp, practice sessions or exhibition games.
Bryant was the highest paid safety in National Football League free agency in the offseason. He signed a three-year contract worth $40 million with the Bears on March 11.
This past season, Bryant was on a Seattle Seahawks team that won the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl LX, a 29-13 Seahawks win over the New England Patriots in San Francisco, Bryant had four combined tackles (three solo tackles and one assisted tackle), along with one pass deflection.
During the regular season, Bryant had 66 combined tackles (39 solo tackles and 27 assisted tackles), four tackles for a loss, four interceptions for 43 yards, seven pass deflections and one forced fumble.
Coby Bryant was named after Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. However, his parents changed the spelling of his first name so Coby could be unique according to seahawks.com.
The Bears will now have to do some tinkering with their defense prior to the start of the 2026 NFL season. Expect Cameron Lewis of Detroit, Michigan to move up on the Bears depth chart. Lewis spent the last six seasons with the Buffalo Bills before signing a two year contract worth $6 million on March 13.