It was clear from the start that there was something special about Anthony Miller. Ryan Pace saw it, and he knew the Bears had to have him. Matt Nagy saw it. Mitch Trubisky saw it. And Bears fans saw it.
But when it comes to seeing exactly what Miller is capable of as a receiver, he hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface.
Miller had one of the more productive seasons for a Bears rookie receiver in 2018, nabbing 33 receptions for 423 yards and 7 touchdowns. And even more impressive is that he accomplished that while playing hurt.
Throughout the 2018 season, Miller struggled with a left shoulder injury, which he detailed to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. Among the revelations was the fact that Miller’s shoulder was far worse than many believed. He “painfully dislocated” it “maybe five or six times.”
Once the injury happened, there was no way to remedy it without surgery. And foregoing what would’ve been a season-ending injury, Miller opted to play through the pain and wearing a brace. All Bears doctors could do was pop his shoulder back in when it happened. And it happened multiple times throughout the 2018 season.
In the first 10 games, Miller had 29 receptions for 398 yards and five touchdowns. But his production dipped over the next seven games, where he caught just seven passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns. While Miller made it through his first season, missing just two games over that time, his production was clearly affected by his injured shoulder.
Miller had surgery to repair his torn labrum in January, and so far his rehab is right on schedule. While he doesn’t expect to practice too much this offseason, he promised the best is yet to come.
“Chicago hasn’t seen how I can play yet,” Miller told the Tribune. “Every time I tried to stiff arm, it would come out, or if I ran kind of crazy, it would come out. Really I was playing games with like one arm, making it happen. This year I’ve got two, so watch out.”
If last year’s production was Miller working with just one arm, imagine what he can do with two.
