Bears General Manager Ryan Pace will wade into free agency for the second time next month and one place where the team could hope for better results this time around is with the health of the players they bring to the roster.
Linebacker Pernell McPhee, safety Antrel Rolle and wide receiver Eddie Royal all dealt with injuries over the course of the season with both Rolle and Royal out of commission for half the season when all was said and done. McPhee only missed two games, but his play definitely suffered as a result of a knee injury that he’s addressed surgically this offseason.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that McPhee had arthroscopic surgery on the knee performed by Dr. James Andrews. McPhee is expected to be fine for training camp, although his availability for offseason work may be compromised by the rehab from the surgery.
McPhee had five sacks and an interceptions during the first seven games of the season, but added one sack and missed two games the rest of the way as the knee injury took its toll on his ability to stay on the field and produce when he was out there. The hope for 2016 will be that the scope set things right and set McPhee up for fuller success in his second year in Chicago.