Latest Luther Burden Injury Update is a Mixed Bag for the Bears

The Chicago Bears and all their fans collectively held their breaths when Luther Burden exited Saturday's training camp practice session early and did not return, fearing the worst. His first injury update came as a relief to the Bears when NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed that Burden had injured his groin rather than his knee or leg.

Now we have a little more clarity on Burden's injury, but this update is something of a mixed bag. According to CBS Sports senior reporter Matt Zenitz, Burden is expected to miss about a month, with the hope that he'll be back just in time for Chicago's Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Luther Burden dodged a major injury, but the Bears must still be cautious

The good news from this update is that there's a good chance that Burden won't actually miss any games. The bad news is that groin injuries can be tricky. Bears fans will remember that Jaylon Johnson injured his groin last July and missed all of training camp. He tried to come back for Week 2, but he almost immediately reinjured his groin and the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback was ruled out indefinitely.

It goes without saying that every injury is different, and Burden is not Johnson. However, I would hope that Johnson's situation last year served as a tale of caution for the Bears. Under no circumstances should Burden try to rush back before he's 100% healthy. Missing the season opener would be suboptimal, but far worse would it be to see Burden reinjure himself in Carolina and miss the next two months.

This latest injury even has people wondering if the Bears are practicing too hard. Head coach Ben Johnson loves his tough practices, after all. But it's unlikely that Johnson will make any changes. Tough practice is how you build a tough team, and tough teams win championships. And to be fair, these injuries have generally been freak accidents and not the result of playings being pushed too hard. There's no controlling for injuries like that in a sport like football.

Who should the Bears turn to in Luther Burden's absence?

As every good football fan knows, the NFL is a 'next man up' league. Everyone is just an injury away from becoming a starter, and someone at the Chicago Bears' training camp is now going to be getting starting reps as a receiver. Some Bears fans would probably like to see the rookie Zavion Thomas move into Burden's role while he's sidelined, but the Bears injury woes continued when Thomas left practice early on Sunday.

The best option for the Bears to backfill Burden's role may in fact be a former undrafted rookie free agent and one-time Bears hero: Jahdae Walker. It was Jahdae Walker's huge play for the Bears that forced overtime in Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers, leading to their stunning win. Naturally, the fans haven't been able to get enough of Walker since that moment, and they might now get their wish.

But there's another undrafted receiver who's been making waves at Bears training camp. Kaden Davis, formerly of NW Missouri State University, has had a strong training camp through the first two weeks. According to CHGO Bears reporter Adam Hoge, Davis finished Sunday's practice with a walk-off 34-yard touchdown reception from the arm of Tyson Bagent.

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