Bears defensive end Lamarr Houston is done for the year with a torn ACL, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Houston suffered the injury while celebrating a sack in the midst of the Bears’ blowout loss at the hands of the Patriots.
The Bears were trailing 48-23 when Houston brought down Pats backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Houston leaped in the air to celebrate and came down awkwardly on his leg, causing the injury that will keep him sidelined until training camp in 2015.
Houston is earning $9MM this season and his base salary of $5.95MM is guaranteed for 2015. The Bears brought the 27-year-old aboard as a replacement for veteran Julius Peppers, who was released on the same day. In total, Houston’s deal is for five years with a total value that can be as high as $35MM.