Cornerback Artie Burns‘ bid to earn playing time in the Bears’ secondary could be hampered by a left knee injury.
Burns had to leave practice early on Tuesday after getting hurt. Head coach Matt Nagy said after the session that Burns is having tests done on the knee and that the team will know more once they are complete.
Burns saw time with the first team in practice this week. He, Kevin Toliver and second-round pick Jaylon Johnson are in the mix for a role across from Kyle Fuller.
“I think every day might be a little bit different as we play more and more and they start to get guys in there to get a feel for what they can do well and what they can’t do well,” Nagy said before Burns was hurt, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Artie is a first round draft pick and has been in this league. He has experience. So just naturally for him to be able to come in here with Kevin Toliver, I think that that’s normal. You’ll probably end up seeing more and more reps as the days and weeks go on with Jaylon because we need to evaluate. That’s a very important position that we need to get right. And only time will tell with reps.”
Burns signed a one-year deal with the Bears. The 2016 first-round pick of the Steelers started 25 games in his first two seasons, but fell out of favor in Pittsburgh as his rookie deal wound down.