LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant will miss four to six months after he had surgery on his injured left knee, coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday.Bryant, signed to a $40 million, three-year deal as a free agent this offseason, was expected to be an important part of a revamped Chicago secondary.Johnson said Bryant had surgery Friday without disclosing details of the injury. He did not rule out the possibility that Bryant would return this season.“I got to see him today,” Johnson said. “He’s going to be in a hurry to get back to help us out there at the end of the year.”Bryant was hurt at practice on Aug. 3. ESPN initially reported that he could miss eight to 10 weeks, but the team never confirmed that timeline.Chicago let All-Pro safety Kevin Byard leave for Buffalo in free agency and signed Bryant, who spent four years with the Seattle Seahawks. He was the starting free safety for last year’s Super Bowl-winning squad.
“Coby is the template for how we all want our team to play,” Johnson said. “He was a big part of offense, defense and special teams, the mentality, the mindset, his approach. We loved everything about him.“It certainly takes us back a little bit but it also provides opportunity for other guys to fill that void and it might be guys we hope to prod along a little bit.”
