Recently cut Bears tight end Trey Burton signed with the Colts this week and said in his introductory press conference that the health issue that kept him out of the 2019 playoff game against the Eagles was misdiagnosed.
Burton also told reporters he was hurried back too quickly for training camp last year, which ended up further derailing his season. Bears general manager Ryan Pace said in September everything was handled correctly with Burton’s rehab.
“I was kind of rushed back into playing and not necessarily having the time to recover that I should’ve had,” Burton said. “I tried to fight through the season... Every week was — I mean when I say a struggle, that is a light term for it. It was rough, man. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play coming up to almost every Sunday.”
He was also blindsided by the team letting him go. He was two seasons into a four-year, $32 million contract.
“The surprise level was kind of high,” Burton said. “I didn’t have a trace of that happening leaving the facility at the end of the year. Even the conversations that we had during the offseason were really positive.
“Everybody seemed to be excited about me getting healthy and getting ready to play this upcoming year... You always know there is an understanding of the possibility [of being cut] if you don’t produce or have the season you want to have, so I wouldn’t say I was surprised from that standpoint. I was more surprised from the past and [that] previous conversations we had were really good.”
The Bears gave him his first opportunity as a full-time starter. He rewarded them with a career year of 54 catches, 569 yards and six touchdowns.
That season ended disappointingly, though, as Burton missed the playoff game against the Eagles because of what he believed was a groin injury. He eventually underwent sports hernia surgery.
When he returned for training camp last summer, he lasted less than a week before being put on an individual training program to continue rehabbing from the injury. He never seemed fully healthy during the season and went on Injured Reserve in November. He finished with 14 catches for 84 yards.
Burton underwent hip surgery in December, which the Bears believed would finally solve the issue, and was expected to be back to full speed by training camp this year. He said he is ahead of schedule and should be ready in two months.
Burton said that procedure was the one he “should’ve gotten to start out with,” as opposed to the sports hernia surgery.
Bears coach Matt Nagy reiterated late last season that Burton was part of the team’s plans for 2020, but that changed.
“He had a good first year for us, but unfortunately for him and for us, the injuries kind of added up,” Pace said. “We just felt at this time that was the best course of action for our team.”
Burton signed with the Colts five days later, reuniting him with Frank Reich. Reich, now the Colts head coach, was Burton’s offensive coordinator in Philadelphia in 2016 and ‘17.
