When Brian Urlacher hurt his left knee in the season finale last season, it was initially feared he had torn both the MCL and PCL.
Later tests showed things weren’t quite so serious and Lovie Smith said last month that Urlacher was fully recovered. Smith might have spoken too soon, however. Urlacher was a guest on ESPN 100 Radio in Chicago Tuesday and said that there are still lots of things he can’t do, although there didn’t seem to be too much concern about his ability to make it back in time for the start of workouts and camp.
“There’s no reason for me to rush it right now,” Urlacher said. “It was nasty. The MCL and the PCL were damaged. I’m not rushing it. I’m taking my time with it. I’ll be fine. Once we start running and stuff, I should be doing everything with the team.”
If Urlacher had torn ligaments and required major surgery, having the injury in Week 17 would have been a nightmare because it would have jeopardized his 2012 season. But it sounds like this was a relatively good injury to have at that point because it probably would have cost him a chunk of the season if it had happened in October or November. Even if Urlacher is slower during offseason workouts, his experience should make it easy to catch up once he’s all the way back to full health.