LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Already operating with one of the league's least accomplished receiver group, Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will continue his development in the season's second half without his top remaining target.
The severe knee injury to tight end Zach Miller in Sunday's 20-12 loss at New Orleans will deprive the Bears of a well-liked veteran team leader.
"He's just a great dude. He's a leader. His teammates look up to him," head coach John Fox said Monday. "He's very, very smart. I call him quality control just because he helps people in the heat of battle on the field. And those are the kind of guys you do need and his teammates rally around him and so do coaches."
The Bears didn't announce Miller has been placed on injured reserve yet, but it was a formality after Miller was in some danger of losing part of his left leg after suffering the dislocated knee. Miller had immediate vascular surgery to repair a torn popliteal artery and Fox said a vein was removed from his right leg for use in repairing the artery.
"Right now, the report is they're obviously going to take a while for it to make sure it remains good, but he's got good pulse in his lower leg, as well as has good feeling," Fox said. "His foot is warm, which is a good sign. Not that he's out of the woods by any stretch, but it's as good as could be expected at this point."
The gruesome injury occurred on an apparent 25-yard touchdown catch to get the Bears within 14-9, but the catch was later ruled incomplete on review by New York because it was determined Miller lost control of the ball and it hit the ground during the process of making the catch.
It was a big play in the game and still on Miller's mind when he talked from University Medical Center in New Orleans by phone with Fox on Monday.
"He pretty much wanted his touchdown back," Fox said. "He was in good spirits."
Miller has fought through numerous injuries in his career, but is in the second year of a two-year, $5.5 million deal. He was coming off season-ending foot surgery when this season began. At age 33, an injury of this sort can mean the end of a career, although it was far too soon for the Bears to worry about possible recovery time.
Recovery for the team will also take time mentally and physically.
The offense was operating already with top two receivers Kevin White (shoulder blade) and Cameron Meredith (knee) on injured reserve.
Wide receiver Tre McBride III is coming off his first productive game - three catches for 92 yards -- since arriving on waivers at the start of the season.
"For me personally, I didn't have the luxury of being here for the preseason and build that rapport with Mitch," McBride said.
McBride isn't the only receiver who has had to pick up the system in the passing game as the season has gone on. Injured Markus Wheaton had to do it, and then suffered a groin injury and was lost again. Now newly acquired receiver Dontrelle Inman will need to do it.
"You're learning on the fly," McBride said. "You only get a certain amount of time during the day to run plays and the rest is done in the classroom, you know, like, studying plays and stuff like that.
"So it is a tough task to build a rapport with somebody on the fly, somebody that you've never thrown with, because there's nuances between different quarterbacks and stuff that you've got to get adjusted to; stuff that you only get with reps."
Specifically at the tight end spot, losing Miller will mean rookie Adam Shaheen must step into a more prominent role. Dion Sims will become more of a target, and Daniel Brown will be the third tight end.
"We're going to have to recover from it," Fox said. "Anytime we lose somebody - I know I always use that term next man up, that's not out of a lack of respect or disrespect for the guy we lost by any stretch.
"That guy was there for a reason. But we have to review it. Not just his on-the-field ability but his everyday pushing guys, remaining positive, a lot of things that it takes to do this every day because it's blue collar. It's hard work. So I think we'll miss him in that way and I know everybody in that locker room will."
Shaheen was the second-round draft pick this year and came into the league out of Division II, so he's needed time to adjust. He has one 2-yard TD catch and no other receptions and has been targeted twice.
"He's definitely got the ability and the football intelligence to do it," Fox said. "I think you'll see on the season his play time has increased. Whether that relates to the production at this point I can't speak to off the top of my head, but the game's slowing down for him."
The leadership aspect of Miller's presence on the roster won't be easily replaced. Miller was someone offensive and defensive players looked to for guidance on a young team.
"He welcomed me with open arms, just like everybody else," McBride said. "He just did it fast. He was actively doing it.
"That's what I really appreciated from Zach. I feel like that was something that was important to me and that's part of the reason why when something bad happened to him, it hurt even more."
--The announcement of linebacker Jerrell Freeman's second violation in two years of the league's performance enhancing drug policy has virtually no bearing on the team for the rest of this season, since Freeman had gone on injured reserve with a pectoral muscle injury.
Freeman will be suspended 10 games, meaning the rest of this season and beyond. And it's beyond when Freeman will have to face up to the situation.
"It's really just like last year again," coach John Fox said. "It's something that we talk about very, very consistently. They are responsible for what they put in their body. I'll just leave it at that. From my perspective that's just how I look at it. I haven't seen all the details."
Freeman went to Twitter to explain his situation. He claimed he is struggling with a career-threatening head injury that includes loss of memory.
"I have to say I'm sorry again, but I am sorry," Freeman said on Twitter. "I've been on IR all year and you try to stay out of sight, but sorry for the distraction.
"I had been lying to friends, family and loved ones when it comes to the question of 'Are you OK?' Knowing my career may be over due (to) everything that came with the head injury (that's purposely been downplayed by me), memory loss and all, has actually been a bit of a struggle. That being said, there's no excuse to cope with any problems by taking any kind of pills."
Freeman isn't allowed at Halas Hall to work out during the suspension.
The pectoral injury was the reason given at the time by the team for putting Freeman on injured reserve, but they did announce he had a concussion, as well. The head injury question was brought to Fox's attention and he said team medical personnel address any such injuries, but wasn't forgiving.
"That's really kind of way ahead of my pay grade," Fox said. "I'm not a doctor. I'm a football coach."
Fox added: "(I'm) just kind of disappointed that it happened again for the second year in a row, and we'll just kind of leave it at that."
--Wide receiver Tre McBride had three career catches before making three for 92 yards in Sunday's loss. It's been anything but a smooth transition from being cut by Tennessee to playing a big role in the receiver corps for the Bears. He was cut in Week 3, then re-signed to the practice squad before coming back to the 53-man roster Oct. 2.
"When I got cut, I was at the point where I was thinking maybe I'm not good enough to do this," McBride said. "Maybe I wasn't as good as I thought I was.
"But that was a short-lived little lapse in my (judgment). I still got back on it and was like 'you're going to drag me out of here before I just quit.'"
--Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman believes he can be up to playing soon, possibly the next game with Green Bay Nov. 12. He's finding the offense not totally foreign, but had to reach back a ways to college.
"It's a whole bunch of concepts I've been in before," Inman said. "When I was at Virginia, I had five receivers coaches, four offensive coordinators and two head coaches, so there's really not an offense I haven't been in."
Inman likes what he's seen of Trubisky.
"He is a gunslinger," Inman said. "You can see the confidence in him, just for me today, just out there looking at him. I've been just watching him - 'this kid can be good.' and he shows it. He shows that he can be great in this league."
--Despite throwing a game-ending interception for the second time in two attempts to pull out a game on the final drive, Mitchell Trubisky lost no standing in head coach John Fox's eyes. Trubisky also threw an interception in the loss at home to Minnesota in his debut.
"As far as the quarterback, I think like anything, the more you do it the better you get," Fox said. "I'm sure that's something that Mitch, our quarterback, is going to get better at. I can't even tell you how many opportunities he's actually had in that situation.
"Not that he handled it poorly, but I do see in everything he's done that he's improved. Just look from game to game that he's started, we're 2-2 in the quarters that he's been our starting quarterback and I think we've done a better job of ball security and I think we'll just see where that takes us."
NOTES: TE Zach Miller (knee) suffered a dislocation on what first appeared to be a touchdown catch, and underwent surgery to repair a torn popliteal artery resulting from the leg injury. He remained hospitalized late Monday and his condition was being monitored. Miller, who is 33, has been plagued throughout his career with injuries. A broken foot ended his 2016 season in Week 11. Turf toe took him out of the season finale in 2015 and in 2014 he had a torn Lisfranc ligament in the second week of the season and missed the rest of the year. Miller also had a torn Achilles and calf muscle in 2012 with Jacksonville and in 2011 had season-ending shoulder surgery with the Jaguars. Daniel Brown played in his place, but is not the same type of player. He lacks Miller's speed, sureness of hands and route-running experience. A team with almost no receivers through the first half will be without the most dependable threat they had in the passing game. ...
... G Kyle Long (finger) suffered an injury in the first quarter against New Orleans, had a ball cast put on his hand and tried to play. He was ineffective and left the game again. He was replaced by Tom Compton. ... C Cody Whitehair (elbow) suffered an injury in the second half and because Hroniss Grasu was inactive with a hand injury, Josh Sitton had to move over and play center. ... DB Josh Callahan (knee) suffered a first-half injury against New Orleans and came out of the game. Cre'Von LeBlanc replaced him and has experience in the nickel corner spot.
REPORT CARD VS PANTHERS
--PASSING OFFENSE: D-plus - Mitchell Trubisky's rating and statistics would have looked much better with a touchdown completion to Zach Miller, one New York replay officials reversed in a decision that was questionable at best. Regardless, Trubisky played inconsistently in his first effort inside a dome and a lack of patience kept him from seeing receivers coming open on several plays. He made a few plays, made good reads, then committed big gaffes. And the Bears will have to live with this from a young quarterback. Wide receiver Tre McBride III came up with 92 receiving yards and made an impact for the first time. Completing five for 115 yards to wide receivers is a step in the right direction, and with Miller's injury it would appear the Bears will be targeting more wide receivers. Josh Sitton deserves accolades for stepping in at center in the noisy dome and snapping well at a position he doesn't play.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus - The 102-yard effort by Jordan Howard looked better than it was largely due to his 52-yard burst. The running game came apart when the offensive line began taking on injuries and wound up with both guards and the center spot being different than when the game began. Tarik Cohen showed something new with his dive at the goal line, and Trubisky's 46-yard scramble went down as big rushing yardage, although it came out of an attempt to pass. Like with the passing game, the consistency wasn't there overall.
--PASS DEFENSE: B-minus - No defense had sacked Drew Brees more than once in a game, but the Bears did it twice and maintained a steady push up the middle. The heat brought by Leonard Floyd had Brees looking around much of the time and unable to settle down and throw. The Saints picked on Bryce Callahan in nickel coverage early, but he left with a knee injury and Cre'Von LeBlanc struggled at times on screen passes and also defending the wide runs. Kyle Fuller's recent upward trend ended. Neither Fuller nor Eddie Jackson prevented a big gainer to Ted Ginn Jr. even though both were standing in position to easily do it.
--RUSH DEFENSE: B - The defense held New Orleans to 2-for-9 on third downs, and it was primarily because they kept the running game under control and had the Saints in third-and-long situations. The inside run only hurt the Bears when nose tackle Eddie Goldman was out briefly with an injury, and during the first half when the Saints ran wide. Defensive end Mitch Unrein proved stout in one of his better all-around efforts. The Bears pulled the football out twice on running plays and seemed to have it pulled out a third time, but it was reversed on replay.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: D-plus - Throwing away points is becoming a habit for kicker Connor Barth, who missed from 48 yards and has had trouble in the range of 46 to 50 yards since coming to Chicago. Kyle Fuller lined up offsides on field-goal block to give the Saints a chance for four more points, and even if he hadn't then teammates Adrian Amos and Sam Acho were also lined up offsides on the first-half play - a terrible mistake in what would become a tight game. Tarik Cohen's decision-making sometimes hasn't always been wise on returning kicks, but he produced a key 46-yarder to give the Bears a last chance at the win by cutting and going straight upfield instead of dancing laterally as he has a habit of doing. The Saints averaged starting on their own 31, 6 yards better than the Bears and not acceptable considering the Bears have to win the field-position game until Trubisky knows more about how to pass in the NFL.
--COACHING: C - Not putting Jordan Howard on the field at key times in the late fourth quarter was a decision leaving Dowell Loggains and the offense open to second-guessing. The Bears got away with it on Cohen's diving TD plunge, but they showed no confidence in their greatest asset. The defensive game plan displayed by Vic Fangio had perfectly sized up how to keep Drew Brees in check, and they might have allowed fewer points if Callahan could have stayed healthy and in pass defense. Special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers has to have players showing more awareness than when they lined up offsides on a field-goal try, eventually costing the Bears four points.
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