CHICAGO _ Bears tight end Trey Burton had sports hernia surgery this offseason and isn't expected to practice until training camp at the earliest, coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday.
The Bears hope the surgery corrects the groin discomfort that surprisingly sidelined Burton for their playoff loss to the Eagles on Jan. 6.
Nagy told reporters about the surgery Wednesday when he was asked about Burton, who watched practice from the sideline.
"When the season was over, we just thought, OK, let's pull back a little bit and let's let him get a little bit of rest, come back and see where it's at," Nagy said.
"We did that, and he wasn't feeling real comfortable with it. So ... a couple months ago, he ended up getting sports hernia surgery. No need for us to keep dragging this out. Let's get the thing right, and we feel like we've done that."
Burton's groin injury initially baffled the Bears and him. The day before their wild-card-round game against the Eagles, the veteran tight end showed up to team headquarters and requested treatment for pain in his groin area. In the three days of practice before that, there were no indications Burton was unfit.
The unforeseen injury lingered and was so problematic that Burton missed the game against his former team. His absence left the Bears without one of their best receiving threats and allowed the Eagles defense to focus its attention on running back Tarik Cohen.
Cohen had only three catches for 27 yards and one carry for no gain in the Bears' 16-15 loss. Six of their 11 possessions resulted in a punt.
Burton had career highs of 76 catches, 569 yards and six touchdowns last season. It was his first year in an elevated role after the Bears signed him to a four-year, $32 million contract that includes $22 million guaranteed for injury.
