CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Bears tight end Trey Burton is inactive for the regular-season opener against the Packers, the team announced 90 minutes prior to kickoff at Soldier Field on Thursday evening.
Burton has been battling a groin injury since last week, the Bears have said. The belief was that it's a minor injury, but it's enough to keep him out. The Bears prepared game plans for possibilities with and without Burton, coach Matt Nagy said.
"We don't have one person that we rely on," Nagy said earlier this week. "So, there's some teams that this happens to and you're in trouble. That's not the case with us.
"We're prepared for both and we'll just see where it goes."
Burton posted 54 receptions for 569 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, his first with the Bears.
The 27-year-old Burton experienced a groin injury in the days leading up to the Bears' playoff loss to the Eagles in January and missed the game. He underwent surgery in the spring to repair a sports hernia, which general manager Ryan Pace had said was related to the absence in that playoff game.
Burton missed a portion of training camp and the preseason while recovering from his offseason procedure. The Bears have maintained the groin injury isn't related to the sports hernia surgery.
The Bears have also ruled out reserve tackle Rashaad Coward due to an elbow injury, which he suffered in the preseason. As expected, second-year defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (knee) is active after having a limited role in a walk-through Tuesday as a matter of maintenance.
Receiver Riley Ridley, cornerback Kevin Toliver, running back Kerrith Whyte Jr., linebacker Josh Woods and defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson are all healthy inactives.
The Packers' inactives are receiver Darrius Shepherd, running back Dexter Williams, cornerback Ka'dar Hollman, linebacker Oren Burks, guard Cole Madison, tackle Alex Light and defensive lineman Kingsley Keke.
Kickoff between the Bears and Packers comes at 7:20 p.m. CT from Soldier Field. The game can be heard on WBBM Newsradio 780 and 105.9 FM.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
