BOCA RATON, Fla. – As the 2015 season wound down, Kevin White was permitted a number of practices with the team before a decision had to be made on his injury status. When the Bears fell to 5-8 with their Dec. 13 loss to the Washington Redskins, that decision was to shut White down for the remainder of the year two days later.
But not before White had made a stunning impression on teammates, particularly quarterback Jay Cutler, with his speed and what his potential was in the Bears offense.
White is now fully recovered from the stress fracture and resulting surgery to his left shin. The result is the anticipated participation of White in the Bears’ offseason, perhaps the best news of this year for the Bears’ offense.
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"He's 100 percent healthy, so now, it's just him, that mental confidence to go full speed,” Bears GM Ryan Pace said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “I think he's there. He's got the biggest smile on his face because I think he's eager to show everybody what he can do. So we're fired up about that.”
The challenge with White now is not his rehab, but his eagerness, which was in evidence late last season as he practiced with the hope of being put on the active roster late in the season.
“As we get into the offseason program, we’ll probably have to [carefully focus him],” Pace said. “I mean, it’s good to have a player that you have to pull back more than you have to push. He’s one of those guys you’ve got to pull back a little bit just because of his attitude.”