Chris

Conte

Conte played through a torn PCL on Monday night. The timetable puts him on track to be activated after eight games when first eligible. Jordan Whitehead will start opposite Justin Evans until Conte returns.

Conte first picked up the injury in Week 2. He apparently aggravated it in Monday night’s loss to the Steelers. Conte got his soul owned by a Vance McDonald stiff arm on a long touchdown. It’s rather remarkable Lovie Smith’s favorite player was still holding down a starting job. The Bucs have close to zero depth in the secondary. Fourth-rounder Jordan Whitehead is the next man up.

He was listed as doubtful to return, which isn’t a good sign. Conte is a below-average starter, but the Bucs are dangerously thin in the secondary.

Conte almost suffered a dreaded Lisfranc injury last December, but ended up with a more conventional sprain. “Instead of tearing it, the space between the bones just widened at little bit,” he explained. “They just casted it and it healed.” A nine-game starter as a rookie, Conte is penciled in as the Bears’ free safety.

“I was lucky it wasn’t worse than it was. But it’s not anything serious,” Conte said of his foot sprain, which also involved ligament damage. “I’m not going to miss any football stuff.” The third-rounder finished his rookie year with 43 tackles in nine starts. He appears to have a bright future as a cover safety.

The initial belief was that Conte injured his ankle. Regardless, the fact that Conte was quickly downgraded from “questionable” to return to “out” suggests X-rays showed a fracture of some kind. His backup is Brandon Meriweather.

It’s possible Conte could be sidelined only 1-2 weeks, but that’s obviously the season at this point. Brandon Meriweather will most likely start in Conte’s place at free safety against the Packers.

Conte suffered a sprained in foot in Week 15. Mistake-prone Brandon Meriweather is expected to rejoin the starting lineup against the Packers. The No. 93 overall pick in the 2011 draft, Conte helped stabilize the back end after taking over in mid-October. He should return as the starter in 2012.

“His shoulder’s a little sore right now,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. Reserve S Brandon Hardin is day-to-day with a neck injury. It sounds like Conte could still be ready for Week 1, but Craig Steltz should start opposite Major Wright if he isn’t.

Although no surgery has been planned, Conte’s status for the season opener is now up in the air. The Bears will likely turn to veteran Craig Steltz if Conte misses time.