WEEK- TO- WEEK? NOW FULLER ON INJURED RESERVE
Cornerback goes on IR for knee, won’t play till at least late November
Yet another Bears injury has turned into more than it appeared.
Cornerback Kyle Fuller was put on injured reserve Tuesday, six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery that was expected to be a relatively minor “clean- out” procedure. He could return later in the season but still will miss at least eight more weeks by being put on IR.
Fuller, drafted 14th overall by former general manager Phil Emery in 2014, became a starter in Week 3 of his rookie year, but he hasn’t performed up to his draft status since getting two interceptions in an upset of the San Francisco 49ers in his second NFL game under former coach Marc Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
Fuller had two interceptions and 15 pass breakups last season. The soreness in his knee apparently developed late in the season. He tried to fight through it in the offseason and into training camp, but it didn’t improve.
Fuller was kept in Chicago when the Bears went to Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Aug. 18 for three days of practice and a preseason game with the New England Patriots. He had the surgery that week, but it wasn’t considered season- threatening, and coach John Fox listed him as week- to- week. The earliest Fuller can return now is Nov. 27 against the Tennessee Titans — three months after the surgery. According to injured reserve rules, he can’t return to practice for six weeks and can’t return to the active roster for eight.
Fuller expressed a little dismay about the length of his recovery but said he didn’t want to rush his return and risk another injury.
“I have to do what my body tells me,” he said last week. “[ My return] didn’t go as fast as I would expect it. But it is what it is.”
Second- year cornerback Jacoby Glenn, an undrafted free agent from Central Florida, has replaced Fuller in the starting lineup, with rookie Deiondre Hall also getting reps. The two were able replacements for Fuller through the first two games of the regular season. Glenn ( four) and Hall ( two) combined for six pass break- ups against the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles. But Glenn struggled in pass coverage in a 31- 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, and Hall didn’t play on defense.
Fuller’s injury is the latest to go from short- term to long- term. Wide receiver Kevin White suffered a shin injury in organized team activities last year that became a stress fracture that eventually required surgery and forced him to miss the season. Linebacker Pernell McPhee played through knee soreness in the second half of last season, then had offseason arthroscopic surgery. After he missed the offseason program, training camp and the preseason, he was put on the PUP list to start the season. The earliest he can return is Oct. 20 against the Green Bay Packers.