The Bears were confident all preseason that Trey Burton would be ready to roll by the opener, and that might have been the case if he hadn’t strained a groin muscle last week.
Burton tested it out in pre-game warm-ups, but was unable to run full speed, so the Bears made him inactive against the Packers.
The concern now is whether he might miss additional games as coach Matt Nagy prioritizes his long-term health, though the Bears have 10 days until their Week 2 visit to the Broncos.
It was surely an exasperating night for Burton, who worked back from sports hernia surgery and thought he was in good shape when the Bears opened training camp in late July. Prior to the new injury, which the Bears insist is unrelated to his sports hernia, general manager Ryan Pace said Burton was “in a good place” as far as playing in the opener.
“There’s nobody in the world that wants to be out here playing right now more than him,” Nagy said before the game.
The Bears did not have a tight end on the field to open the game, instead using three running backs in their traditional T-formation. Adam Shaheen (five catches last season) and Ben Braunecker (three) are next in line at the position.
Burton is one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the NFL and put together 54 receptions, 569 yards and six touchdowns in 2018 for the best season of his career. He has also been durable, playing 77 of a possible 80 regular-season games before Thursday.
He missed the Bears’ playoff game against the Eagles in January with a sports hernia, but did not have surgery until spring. That ruined his offseason training, and he struggled to get his conditioning back when he arrived in Bourbonnais. He practiced five straight days, but didn’t look right and the Bears decided to put him on an individual program.
Once he returns, Nagy said the team has already discussed limiting his practice time in order to preserve his health.
Other injuries: The Bears were also missing top backup offensive tackle Rashaad Coward, who injured his elbow in the third preseason game and hasn’t been able to practice since.
Nagy was optimistic that Coward would be back by the opener, which is promising for his chances of playing next weekend at Denver.
The Bears also held out cornerback Kevin Toliver II, linebacker Josh Woods, wide receiver Riley Ridley, running back Kerrith Whyte and defensive end Abdullah Anderson as their inactives against the Packers.
Special guests: Shortly before kickoff, the Bears brought their 1985 championship team out of the tunnel, led by Jay Hilgenberg, Jim McMahon and Richard Dent.
They also had Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, Gary Fencik, Otis Wilson, Matt Suhey, Brian Baschnagel, Kurt Becker, Jimbo Covert, Mike Hartenstine, Dennis McKinnon, Jim Morrissey and Tom Thayer on hand.
The Bears are celebrating a different decade each game this season, and opened with their most memorable era. They installed a giant Mike Ditka bobbled head at Millennium Park this week and gave out regular-sized ones to the first 20,000 fans at the game.
Their next home game is Sept. 29 against the Vikings, and they’ll honor the 1930s with a Bronko Nagurski bobblehead giveaway.
