Oct. 14--When Chicago Bears left tackle Jermon Bushrod tried to cut off the edge rush of Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Bruce Irvin on Sept. 27, he absorbed a blow to the head the likes of which he had never experienced.
Bushrod returned to practice Wednesday, having been cleared to do so under the NFL's return-to-play concussion protocol. He was limited Wednesday because of the shoulder injury he suffered in that game.
As Bushrod reflected at his locker on his concussion, he was satisfied that he was cautious in proceeding through his recovery.
"You just want to do everything you can to make sure that you're healthy now to where you're healthy in the long term, as well," the ninth-year veteran said. "That's what can scare you. But at the end of the day, we took our time. We wanted to make sure that I went a few days feeling good, feeling normal before just being thrown back out there."
Bushrod was impatient watching the Bears' games against the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. But he countered that by taking stock of what he was waiting for.
"At the end of the day you've got kids, you've got a wife, you've got people that are counting on you to be there for the long haul," he said. "So you have to put everything into perspective and take it one day at a time."
While Bushrod was out, second-year tackle Charles Leno replaced him on the left side, where he was matched up against Raiders former Pro Bowler Aldon Smith and Chiefs star Tamba Hali.
"I was impressed with way Leno played in the Oakland game," Bushrod said. "Then he went to Kansas City, and to play the way he did, I had nothing but praise for him. I saw him after the game and it was all love because if you work hard like that and you can go take it to the field against a player like that in his home stadium, it's pretty impressive."
rcampbell@tribpub.com
