Bears place Jerrell Freeman on injured reserve

Injuries can seemingly never get out of the way for head coach John Fox's Chicago Bears, can they? When disaster strikes, it comes in waves.

The Bears announced on Tuesday that they are placing Jerrell Freeman on injured reserve. It was earlier revealed that the linebacker was placed in the team's concussion protocol and had also injured his pectoral muscle in Sunday's 23-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. No further update was given, but evidently enough, the extent of either injury was enough to force the Bears' hand and place their all important top middle linebacker on the shelf.

It's now time for the promising second-year Nick Kwiatkoski to step in for the veteran, who may well be ready for a starting role anyway. Nevertheless, it always hurts to lose a top starter to a team's best unit and the Bears will likely feel Freeman's absence at least in the short team.

From the offensive perspective, in a move that was already telegraphed, the Bears also placed third-year wide receiver Kevin White on injured reserve after he broke his clavicle against Atlanta. Piled on misfortune for a young and still raw player.

To help replace both, the Bears did make moves in promoting Tanner Gentry and Jonathan Anderson to the active roster on Tuesday. Neither young player can or should be expected to make an immediate impact at this very second, though.

With only but a few days until the Bears face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, they're merely trying to pick up the pieces at Halas Hall.

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Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for the Rock River Times and is an editor for Windy City Gridiron. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.