After a series of injuries and a share of angst, the Bears will break training camp Wednesday knowing what their starting offensive line will be.
Now that you know what the glass looks like half-full, as coach Lovie Smith prefers, here is what it looks like half-empty.
Veteran guard Rex Tucker’s dislocated left elbow was worse than he feared after initial X-rays and he is likely to miss up to two months.
That would bring Tucker back into the fold Oct. 17 against Washington at the earliest, and even then he likely will need significant time to get game-ready.
Because of season-ending injuries in each of the past two seasons, Tucker hasn’t played for the Bears since Oct. 7, 2002. Realistically, that probably makes Tucker a candidate for a backup role when he returns.
As they will do with injured kick returner and cornerback Jerry Azumah, the Bears vowed to keep a spot open for Tucker on the 53-man roster.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but our numbers still will work out OK as long as we don’t lose anybody else,” Smith said Tuesday.
Tucker initially felt encouraged by X-rays taken Monday night at a local hospital hours after he dislocated the elbow at practice. He thought he might be able to return by the Sept. 12 season opener, a source close to Tucker said. Teammates even had indicated the injury wasn’t as bad as they had thought.
But by Tuesday morning, Tucker’s elbow had become so swollen the Bears had to postpone an MRI to next week until the swelling subsides. Team doctor Gordon Nuber, an elbow specialist, examined Tucker and ruled out surgery but made the prognosis nobody in the organization had wanted to hear.
“It’s a hard thing,” center Olin Kreutz said. “Any time a man works that hard, it’s just something that’s hard to deal with, not just because he’s your teammate but your friend too. He’s not in a great mood, but he’s not a shattered man by any means.”
Teammates who had spoken to Tucker, who kept a low profile inside the Bears’ training facilities, described him as determined as he was disappointed. Similarly, the Bears quickly moved on by moving some parts around a line that has spent the last three weeks in flux.
“It’s typical of how camps go,” Smith said. “You can’t panic.”
Injuries have made some depth-chart decisions for him.
Tucker’s injury prompted Smith to switch Ruben Brown on Tuesday from right guard to left guard, where he has made eight straight Pro Bowls. Terrence Metcalf’s sprained ankle opened the door for Mike Gandy at right guard. John Tait’s right groin sprain, which became aggravated whenever he played left tackle, forced the Bears to lock him in at right tackle.
Thus left tackle Qasim Mitchell, Brown, Kreutz, Gandy and Tait will start Saturday night at Soldier Field in the second exhibition game and, Smith hopes, the line will remain together for the regular-season opener.
When Metcalf returns to the field, it will be as a backup to both guard spots and center.
“We really have a pretty good offensive line,” Smith said. “That’s the beauty of having a guy like Ruben Brown here and Mike Gandy coming back.”
Brown took the news of the switch like someone who has started the last 136 games he has played. Not even the thought of moving back to right guard when Tucker comes back fazed Brown.
“It’s not a big adjustment at all,” he said. “I keep telling everybody I don’t make the depth chart, I just play for the coach.”
The offensive line was considered the strength of the team entering training camp, and running back Thomas Jones says nothing has changed even if the bodies blocking in front of him have. Jones warns not to underestimate the Bears’ running game.
“Honestly, I don’t think it makes a difference who’s in the game for me,” Jones said. “When I get the ball, I take my proper technique and my steps and let my instincts take care of the rest. I have faith in all our offensive linemen. I don’t look at one and say, `He can’t block.’ I think they all can get the job done.”
