Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher will not play in tonight’s preseason opener against the Broncos, and the team isn’t explaining exactly why.
Urlacher sat out practice last week because of soreness in his knee, and then didn’t attend practice at all early this week because, Bears coach Lovie Smith said, he had “personal reasons.” Then the Bears revealed tonight that Urlacher will miss the preseason game, but General Manager Phil Emery didn’t clarify things very much in an interview on the Chicago radio station that carries the Bears’ games.
“Brian is doing well,” Emery said, via ESPN.com. “We treat each and every injury on an individual basis. He’s a guy who needs some rest right now. We’re going to provide him with that. Practice right now is not in his best interest or the best interest of the Chicago Bears.”
Urlacher suffered a sprained MCL and PCL in the Bears’ last regular-season game, and if he’s experiencing soreness in the knee it’s easy to see why the Bears would hold him out. But there’s no word on what his “personal reasons” are for not being with the team at all. The specifics of Urlacher’s situation remain a mystery.
