LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) – The Bears made a significant addition to their defense by signing safety Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40-million deal in free agency this offseason, but their vision will have to change to start the new season.
Bryant suffered a knee injury Monday morning during the Bears' first live contact practice of this training camp. He’s expected to miss eight to 10 weeks with the injury. That’s a major blow for Chicago's defense, which was counting on Bryant to be a catalyst for improvement.
The timetable for Bryant's return means he’ll miss at least the first several games of the regular season in September. The Bears are now evaluating their options to replace Bryant at safety.
"Obviously, it sucks to lose a guy like that for any particular time," Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "And he's a big part of what we have planned to do — and will still be a big part of what we have planned to do. But in all adversity comes also opportunity. So, it will be another opportunity for some other guys to step up, whether it be somebody in the safety room to step up and take on that role or some of our other guys in the room to step up and become the playmakers and the leaders for the defense. It's part of football, it's part of what you deal with and you move on.
"That's all of our jobs. I think that's the coaches' job, I think that's the players' job. I mean, nothing ever goes exactly how you planned, right? You have to be able to adjust. You have to be able to change course when needed to. So, it's just part of what we do, and this is just one of those things we'll have to deal with.”
The Bears will likely turn to versatile veteran defensive back Cam Lewis in place of Bryant for the time being. Having joined the Bears in March, Lewis was competing at the nickelback position, which is open after starter Kyler Gordon suffered a calf injury that has him on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
Lewis shifted from the nickel cornerback position right into the safety spot after Bryant was carted off from practice on Monday. The Bears are now looking at several options at nickelback, including Jaylon Jones and rookie Malik Muhammad.
The Bears dealt with many injuries as they ranked in the bottom one-third of the NFL in scoring defense and total defense in 2025. That included top cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who was limited to seven games after undergoing core muscle surgery last September.
The Bears defense’s calling card was forcing turnovers, as they led the NFL in takeaways. Now, Allen is focused on doing his best to maximize his unit with the players who are healthy and available.
“I want to see 11 frickin dudes on the field competing their ass off," Allen said.
Chris Emma covers the Bears and Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
