RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Coming off a surprising 2025 season, the Chicago Bears set their sights on one major free-agent acquisition to push the defense forward in 2026. But those plans are on hold momentarily after safety Coby Bryant sustained a knee injury at training camp that will keep him out 8-10 weeks, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bryant, 27, signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Bears this offseason. He sustained a hyperextended knee, bone bruise and small fracture during practice.
Bears safety Coby Bryant is expected to be sidelined 8-10 weeks due to a hyperextended knee, bone bruise and small fracture that he suffered at today’s practice, per sources. No surgery is expected to be needed. pic.twitter.com/LxaZFt4hPP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 3, 2026
Bryant injured his knee during a 1-on-1 drill vs. tight end Cole Kmet. Bryant was reportedly emotional upon sustaining the injury and needed to be carted off the field, per CHGO.
It’s a significant blow for Chicago, which lost both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker in the offseason. Byard and Brisker started for the team last season.
With both starting safeties gone, the Bears quickly identified a replacement in Bryant and then turned to the draft to select Dillon Thieneman in the first round. Bryant and Thieneman were expected to give the Bears a promising duo in the secondary.
Following Bryant’s injury, that pair will need a few weeks before appearing together in a regular-season game. While Bryant’s injury is concerning, it’s not season-ending. The Bears won’t play their Week 1 game until Sept. 13, giving Bryant a little over a month to get healthy before the start of the regular season. He’ll very likely miss multiple regular-season games as he recovers, but should be back at some point.
Bryant, a former fourth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks, developed into a full-time starter with the team during the second half of the 2024 NFL season. He started all 15 regular-season games in which he played last season, and appeared in all three of the Seahawks’ playoff games, where he registered 10 tackles and two passes defended en route to a championship.
The Bears wasted no time zeroing in on Bryant as a target. Both sides reached a deal on the first day of free agency, a sign that the Bears thought extremely highly of Bryant this offseason.
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