Earlier this week, the Patriots lost Julian Edelman to a torn ACL. That was a non-contact injury that came during a meaningless preseason game.
That was a high-profile example of the dangers of NFL preseason; today, we got another example, though it happened to a player with whom you’re likely not quite as familiar. But that’s no comfort to Bears fans, as the player in question, Cam Meredith, was poised to be their #1 receiving target.
The video is here, and unlike Edelman, the injury was a result of contact, so it is a bit graphic:
Yikes. Meredith had to be carted off after, and FOX’s Pam Oliver reported the initial speculation:
Fox's Pam Oliver reports fear is #Bears WR Cam Meredith suffered a torn ACL.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 27, 2017
Meredith had one of the better seasons you likely didn’t hear about last year, catching 66 passes for 888 yards and 4 touchdowns despite working with Matt Barkley more than any other quarterback. The Bears were already thin at the position, having let Alshon Jeffery walk for puzzling reasons, and without Meredith, 2015 first-round pick Kevin White becomes the nominal #1 wideout, although he himself has never really been healthy enough to offer any consistent contributions.
The Bears weren’t likely to contend this year, of course; the main goal was always going to be to try and develop rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in an ideal environment. Having zero proven wide receivers (unless you still like Victor Cruz) is likely not going to be that environment, which is a shame.
It’s also an example of why four preseason games is way too many; just playing a snap in a high-level football game is an injury risk. Why add extra opportunities? (Oh, right, it’s money.)
Hopefully, somehow, Meredith’s injury isn’t as severe as the initial reporting would indicate, but either way, it’s very unfortunate.
