The Chicago Bears selected West Virginia Mountaineers star wide receiver Kevin White with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was expected to replace Brandon Marshall in the starting lineup immediately, but that doesn’t appear like it will happen. According to a report from ESPN Stats and Info, White will miss at least six regular season games and could miss the entire season after undergoing shin surgery.
Bears’ Kevin White will undergo shin surgery, miss at least 6 games. White: highest-drafted WR by Bears since Curtis Conway, 1993 (also 7th)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 15, 2015
Chicago decided to trade Marshall to the New York Jets this past offseason and now are stuck with very little depth at the wide receiver position. Alshon Jeffery is without question their number one receiver, while Eddie Royal will now slide into the second receiver role. They are capable of putting up decent numbers, but things just got a lot harder for quarterback Jay Cutler.
Some fans are going so far as to begin calling him a bust following this news. While it certainly a big blow for the Bears, he has a lot of football left in him and can’t be called a bust without stepping foot on an NFL field.
Injuries are a part of the game, and young players can struggle with them from time to time. White is a very hard worker and will attack his rehab process in order to get back to being the future star that the Bears drafted him to be. He has every single physical ability to become a star, and his shin injury won’t bring him down his entire career.
It will be very interesting to see how the Bears’ offense plays this season. Chicago should look at signing another wide receiver in free agency, and veteran Reggie Wayne would make a lot of sense for them at a cheap price.
Expect to see the Bears begin looking around for more receiver depth in the near future, and don’t be surprised to see them making a move for a proven receiver looking for a one-year contract.
