After watching left tackle Braxton Jones miss six games last season, the Bears utilized a third-round pick to add some quality depth to the roster in Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie. That quality depth will have to wait, though, as Amegadjie is still reportedly making his way back from a season-ending injury he suffered in college, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
Amegadjie suffered a partially torn quad in his final season at Yale that limited him to only four games last year after he underwent surgery. The team claims that doctors had medically cleared Amegadjie, but he has yet to practice in Chicago and will likely be sidelined for the at least the remainder of the spring. Head coach Matt Eberflus said that the plan is for the rookie to be ready by training camp.
Here are a few other rumors from around the NFC North:
- Another rookie getting a delayed start to his NFL career is Packers safety Kitan Oladapo, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. The fifth-round pick out of Oregon State broke the big toe on his left foot during a drill at the NFL scouting combine. He waited to undergo surgery until after his pro day, where he still performed in position drills, and made teams aware of the situation during the pre-draft process. Currently sporting a protective boot and riding a scooter to lessen stress on the toe, Oladapo is not expected to participate in any offseason workouts. He aims to be ready by training camp.
- New Vikings pass rusher Dallas Turner suffered from an unprecedented run of offensive draft picks to open the 2024 NFL Draft. After the minor slide to the middle of the first round, Turner finally came off the board at No. 17 overall as the third defensive player taken. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated hints that the unforeseen streak of offensive players may not have been the only reason that Turner slipped later than expected. Breer says that Turner, UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu, and Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu all fell due to red flags from medical concerns coming into the draft. Without those issues, Breer speculates the three would’ve gone closer to their projected values.