There have been many positives that come out of Bears training camp so far, despite the team dealing with multiple injuries. Nearly half of Chicago's offensive linemen are sidelined with injuries, including second-round offensive tackle Tevin Jenkins. The Bears have had significant unfortunate luck when it comes to training camp, injuries as it will usually lead to an injury-plagued season.

Bears Have Been Dealing With Injuries At The Most Important Position This Season

Heading into the 2021 season, all attention is on Chicago's quarterback position with starter Andy Dalton and rookie Justin Fields. Although many believe that the 2021 Bears' season will be decided on the performance of Dalton and Fields, it is the performance of the offensive line that will determine how far the team goes. Six of the Bears' 15 offensive linemen are currently out with a variety of injuries. The injuries are troubling as head coach Matt Nagy is trying to put together the five best offensive linemen to give his offense a chance to succeed.

Although rookie Larry Borom has impressed so far in camp, other linemen that the team needs to see have been unable to stay healthy or even get on the field. German Ifedi, Elijah Wilkerson, James Daniels, and Jenkins have all been sidelined so far during this year's training camp. Three of the four names listed are expected to be contributors to the Bears' starting offensive line this year, but without staying healthy, the quality and depth of Chicago's offensive line is significantly limited. Last season, one of the main reasons for the Bears' offensive woes during their six-game losing streak was because of their offensive line. Whether due to injuries of COVID-19 positive tests, the offensive line lacked cohesion as several times there was a new starting offensive line. During the Bears' six-game losing streak, Chicago's quarterbacks were sacked 19 times. The injuries in camp could very easily carry over into the regular season, where prior Bears' seasons have been lost due to injuries in training camp.

There Have Been Several Occasions Where A Bears Season Was Ruined By A Pile Of Injuries

Heading into the 2002 season, The Bears had Super Bowl expectations coming off a 13-win season the year before as the team was returning almost the same roster. In training camp that year, several small injuries that hampered key starters that had an impactful role from the season before. The most notable injury was to Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown who broke his forearm, but did not miss any time during the regular season. Brown was one of the lucky few as the 2002 team is remembered for their injury-plagued roster. The team nearly had one player from each position finish the season on injured reserve. Jim Miller, Anthony Thomas, David Terrell, John Davis, Dustin Lyman, Rex Tucker, Marc Columbo, Warrick Holdman, and Ted Washington were some of the Bears players to suffer significant season-ending injuries. It was because of all those injuries that the Bears would finish with a four-win season in 2002.

Two seasons later, during Lovie Smith's first season as Bears' head coach, the team would see a similar fate. During training camp of 2004, many players kept suffering recurring soft tissue injuries, including Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher. Urlacher suffered a pulled hamstring during training camp that carried over into the regular season, forcing him to miss seven games. Chicago's two big free agent signings in Pro Bowl offensive tackle John Tait and Pro Bowl offensive guard Ruben Brown would also finish the season on injured reserve.

The injury bug in 2004 affected the Bears' quarterback position the most. Starter Rex Grossman tore his ACL at the end of the team's Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings and missed the remainder of the season. Chicago's rookie backup Craig Krenzel would lead the team to a 3-1 record before suffering a season-ending heel injury against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. The mix of an injury-plagued offensive line and quarterback position led to the Bears having the worst offense in the NFL for the 2004 season. Most recently, the last Bears' season to be derailed due to injuries carry over from training camp into the regular season was 2016. There were several small injuries suffered during training camp by Bears' players, but the season-ending injury to backup quarterback Connor Shaw set the tone for what was to come. In the team's third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Shaw suffered a gruesome broken ankle. The backup was the fan favorite of camp and was on the verge of winning the team's backup quarterback spot before being lost for the season.

During the 2016 regular season, Chicago lost two starting quarterbacks in Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer to season-ending injuries, while second-year wide receiver Kevin White broke his ankle in the team's week four win over Detroit. Towards the end of the 2016 season, the Bears nearly had as many players on injured reserve as the 2002 team did. Chicago would finish with a franchise-worse three wins in 2016.

The 2021 Bears offense will go as far as their offensive line allows them to. If the offensive line can remain healthy and efficient, Chicago's offense will have a chance to succeed with the players they have in place at the skill positions. If the injuries carry over into the regular season, it will not come as a shock if the team doesn't win games, as this outcome has been seen before.