NASHVILLE — The gigantic video boards at Nissan Stadium showed a replay of nearly every play during Sunday’s preseason game, no matter how inconsequential it was, or if it cast the Tennessee Titans in a negative light.
One play, noticeably, was not shown on the video board. And that’s a good thing, because Cameron Meredith’s gruesome, brutal knee injury didn’t need to be shown again.
The Bears suspect Meredith has an ACL injury, though the third-year receiver hadn’t undergone an MRI as of John Fox’s postgame meeting with the media. Not only did the Bears lose their leading receiver from 2016 (66 catches, 888 yards), they lost one of their best, most feel-good stories: A local kid from Berwyn who attended St. Joseph High School, went on to help Illinois State nearly win an FCS Championship, clawed his way onto the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent and looked primed for an even more productive 2017.
“It was definitely tough — he was playing so well,” quarterback Mike Glennon said. “He had the catch on the first drive and then the catch obviously right then. It’s just all Cam. He’s been one of our go-to guys. Again, I know we talk about it, but a guy who was on the incline, always getting better. It’s unfortunate at some point that would happen.”
That catch Glennon referred to was a 28-yarder on the Bears’ 96-yard scoring drive in the first quarter, on which Glennon — while under pressure — found Meredith, who was blanketed in man coverage, for an impressive reception. Meredith was injured when he went across the middle for a 16-yard reception later in the first quarter, and was carted off with an air cast on his left leg.
“We’ll miss Cam, we love Cam,” fellow wideout Kendall Wright said. “He’s a warrior out there.”
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“Cam’s a great guy, a great teammate,” added wide receiver Kevin White. “He works his butt off. It’s always a little sad, a little emotional when a good guy like that goes down.”
Football players are conditioned to think in terms of “next man up” given the frequency of injuries in this sport. The impact of losing Meredith will be significant on the Bears’ offense, which now has a void to fill with guys who haven’t proven themselves yet (like White) or were productive, but a few years ago (like Wright, Markus Wheaton and — if he makes the team — Victor Cruz).
The circumstances and potential severity of Meredith’s injury, though, are best summed up by left tackle Charles Leno: “It sucks, man.”
“He’s been working hard this offseason, had a great camp, been a great competitor for us,” Leno continued. “It’s just tragic, man. Young player, too. We all gotta rally behind him and keep building him up because he is a big focal point for our offense. It sucks.”