A much-maligned Chicago Bears offensive line can breathe a little 🃏bit easier now that this DeForest Buckner news is officiall🧸y official.
The Indianapolis Colts have put the All-pro defensive tackle on injured reserve. Buckner suf♋fered the injury against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 at Lambeau Field:
Moving Buckner to injured reserve will keep the start defensive lineman out for at least the next four games — beginning with Sunday’s Week 3 matchup against the Chicago Bears. set off a chain of transactions for the Colts, who signed defensive end Genard Avery to their 53-man roster and added defensive linemen Adam Gotsis and Titus Leo to the practice squad. It is quite the game of musical chairs the Colts are playing on the wire.
No DeForest Buckner makes things easier, but…
…. not easy. And there is an important distinction to make here. So, let’s make it explicitly known while we have a moment — just because the job is easier doesn’t make it easy. The Chicago Bears offensive line has a monumental task ahead of it now that opposing teams have two games worth of film to diagnose the unit’s many warts. But even with that being said, not having to worry about DeForest Buckner makes things feel a little more manageable. It’s like crossing one thing off a lengthy shopping list. But for the Bears, this thing is a 6-foot-7-inch, 295-pound monster who wrecks quarterbacks for a living.
DeForest Buckner is a true game-wrecking interior defensive lineman. The 30-year-old University of Oregon product is the prototype 3-technique defensive tackle. When we discuss Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus’ obsession with getting that position right, it is Buckner — who he coached while in Indy — that he is dreaming of when he talks about this particular position. Buckner has three Pro Bowls and one first-team All-Pro season under his belt. He has 62.5 career sacks to his name to go along with 9 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 81 tackles-for-loss, and 163 quarterback hits in 131 games.
EARLI༒ER COVERAGE OF THE DEFOREST BUCKNER INJURY N⛎EWS
In my heart of hearts, I feel as if there is nowhere to go but up for these Bears. But the bar is so low that I’d be afraid about what it would look like if they don’t clear it. Their first step toward making necessary improvements begins on Sunday in Indianapolis — and without one of the league’s most fearsome defensive linemen available for the other side.
