clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Brian Urlacher has been playing through an injury all along.

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

How long have we been hearing the staff and Urlacher preach how he is healthy? I remember it being harped on since training camp when he began to sit out pre-season games. After bad games when his health was questioned he brushed it off and said he was fine. This started with the Vikings game in week 5 when he appeared to be completely unable to get off blocks and notched only 5 tackles after the coaches reviewed the tape.

Well it turns out that he is hurt, and its not good.

Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher all but confirmed an Internet report that he has an arthritic back after a subpar performance in Sunday's 16-7 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Urlacher was credited with just four tackles on Sunday, another poor performance in an inconsistent season for him.

The six-time Pro Bowl selection told foxsports.com that his back has been bothering him since training camp and that he recently had a specialist in Pittsburgh examine it.

"He confirmed what the team told me, that they think it's an arthritis type of thing," Urlacher was quoted as saying in a story posted Sunday afternoon. "The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief. I just have to deal with the pain."

Asked if that report was accurate, Urlacher said "probably," but had little else to say after the game other than he will answer fans' questions on foxsports.com. It was not clear when he will do that.


The coaches are brushing it off as no big deal,
"As far as what I know about Brian, he played today, he's not on the injury list," coach Lovie Smith said. "As far as his back, there's nothing wrong with his back that would cause him not to be able to play."

This is not good. 670 The Score was talking  about how this is chronic and could be an issue for long to come.  We may have seen the last of a dominant Urlacher.

They said before the season that we absolutely couldn't lose Mike Brown, Brian Urlacher, and Tommie Harris.  They were the anchors of the secondary, linebackers, and line respectively. Well we lost one and the other two are playing through pain.  

This is a new story and is still gaining its legs, and we can only hope this won't become more serious.  Urlacher has been playing like crap, and we can't afford to lose him.