Luther Burden III Groin Injury: Bears WR to Miss Entire Preseason, Week 1 Return Expected
The Chicago Bears just lost their most exciting young wide receiver for the entire preseason. Luther Burden III suffered a groin injury during a Saturday practice and will be out for about a month, according to head coach Ben Johnson.
The injury happened during a one-on-one passing drill when Burden collided with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. It didn’t look catastrophic in real time, but the followup MRI confirmed a groin strain that will keep the second-year receiver sidelined until the regular season.
The good news, and this is the part Bears fans should focus on, is that Burden is still expected to be ready for Week 1 on September 13 against the Carolina Panthers. Missing the preseason isn’t the same as missing regular season games. Burden gets to spend the rest of August rehabbing without any pressure to rush back.
Groin injuries are tricky, though. They tend to linger if athletes come back too quickly, and the last thing the Bears want is Burden re-injuring the same area in September because he wasn’t 100% healed by opening day. Chicago is going to be conservative here.
The timing is brutal for a Bears offense that was counting on Burden making a real second-year leap. He came into the league with massive expectations after a dominant college career at Missouri, where he was one of the most explosive receivers in the SEC. His rookie year showed flashes but also had the typical inconsistency that most young receivers deal with.
Ben Johnson’s offense in Chicago is set up to feature multiple receivers, and Burden was penciled in as the No. 2 target behind DJ Moore. Without him, the pass-catching hierarchy in the preseason becomes: Moore at the top, Rome Odunze as the reliable second option, and then a mix of tight ends and slot receivers.
The preseason reps that Burden loses don’t seem like a huge deal until you think about how important they actually are for a young player. Live game action against different defensive coverages is where receivers refine their route running, work on adjustments, and build chemistry with quarterbacks. Burden is going to miss all of that.
Caleb Williams is also entering his second year, and he needs live reps with his top receivers as much as anyone. The connection between Williams and Burden was supposed to develop over the summer and take a step in preseason games. Now that timeline gets pushed back.
Chicago’s Week 1 opponent is the Carolina Panthers. That’s about as favorable a matchup as the Bears could ask for. Carolina’s defense has been rebuilding for years and doesn’t have the type of secondary that will exploit a rusty Burden. If he can play, he should be able to produce.
The season after that is more concerning. The Bears have a brutal early stretch that includes games against strong defenses, and Burden not being fully in rhythm could hurt Chicago’s offensive production in September.
DJ Moore’s role also gets bigger with Burden out. Moore was already the No. 1 option. Now he’s the No. 1 by a wider margin, and defenses are going to game-plan for him even more aggressively. That could open up more opportunities for Odunze and tight end Cole Kmet, but it puts more on Moore’s plate too.
Bears fans have every reason to hope Burden makes a full recovery by September 13. The offense needs him. Caleb Williams needs him. Ben Johnson’s whole plan for this season assumed Burden was going to be part of the passing game.
Preseason is out. Week 1 is the target. Let’s see if Burden’s body cooperates.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
