Cameron Meredith suffered a thumb injury at OTAs, an injury that may require surgery and will keep him out until training camp either way. That's not necessarily a huge deal, but Meredith is an important piece to a passing game that has virtually no continuity from 2016.
For now, he's expected to miss from six to eight weeks. On a team that's breaking in a new quarterback and has a lot of new faces at receiver, it's a worry.
Of the league's 32 teams, three have said goodbye to both of their top 2 receivers from a year ago (the Rams, Bills and Washington). Seven others, including the Bears, have said goodbye to one of those receivers. Chicago will need Meredith healthy to avoid having that lack of continuity in common with the smaller group.
Chicago is also one of only three teams in either group (along with San Francisco and the Jets) that has a brand-new quarterback.
TOP 2 WIDE RECEIVERS BY TEAM, 2016 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | No. 1 | No. 2 | No | Yds | TD | Return? |
Oak. | Amari Cooper | Michael Crabtree | 172 | 2156 | 13 | 2 |
G.B. | Jordy Nelson | Davante Adams | 172 | 2254 | 26 | 2 |
Den. | Demaryius Thomas | Emmanuel Sanders | 169 | 2115 | 10 | 2 |
NYG | Odell Beckham Jr. | Sterling Shepard | 166 | 2050 | 18 | 2 |
Pitt. | Antonio Brown | Eli Rogers | 154 | 1878 | 15 | 2 |
Minn. | Adam Thielen | Stefon Diggs | 153 | 1870 | 8 | 2 |
T.B. | Mike Evans | Adam Humphries | 151 | 1943 | 14 | 2 |
Mia. | Jarvis Landry | DeVante Parker | 150 | 1880 | 8 | 2 |
Det. | Golden Tate | Marvin Jones | 146 | 2007 | 8 | 2 |
Atl. | Julio Jones | Mohamed Sanu | 142 | 2062 | 10 | 2 |
Ariz. | Larry Fitzgerald | J.J. Nelson | 141 | 1591 | 12 | 2 |
Jac. | Allen Robinson | Marqise Lee | 136 | 1734 | 9 | 2 |
N.E. | Julian Edelman | Chris Hogan | 136 | 1786 | 7 | 2 |
Sea. | Doug Baldwin | Tyler Lockett | 135 | 1725 | 8 | 2 |
Cin. | A.J. Green | Brandon LaFell | 130 | 1826 | 10 | 2 |
S.D. | Tyrell Williams | Dontrelle Inman | 127 | 1869 | 11 | 2 |
Hou. | DeAndre Hopkins | Will Fuller | 125 | 1589 | 6 | 2 |
Dall. | Cole Beasley | Dez Bryant | 125 | 1629 | 13 | 2 |
Ind. | T.Y. Hilton | Phillip Dorsett | 124 | 1976 | 8 | 2 |
Phil. | Jordan Matthews | Dorial Green-Beckham | 109 | 1196 | 5 | 2 |
Tenn. | Rishard Matthews | Tajae Sharpe | 106 | 1467 | 11 | 2 |
K.C. | Tyreek Hill | Jeremy Maclin | 105 | 1129 | 8 | 2 |
N.O. | Brandin Cooks | Michael Thomas | 170 | 2310 | 17 | 1 |
Balt. | Mike Wallace | Steve Smith | 142 | 1816 | 9 | 1 |
Chi. | Cameron Meredith | Alshon Jeffery | 118 | 1709 | 6 | 1 |
NYJ | Quincy Enunwa | Brandon Marshall | 117 | 1645 | 7 | 1 |
Car. | Kelvin Benjamin | Ted Ginn | 117 | 1693 | 11 | 1 |
Clev. | Terrelle Pryor | Corey Coleman | 110 | 1420 | 7 | 1 |
S.F. | Jeremy Kerley | Quinton Patton | 101 | 1075 | 3 | 1 |
Wash. | Pierre Garcon | DeSean Jackson | 135 | 2046 | 7 | 0 |
L.A. | Kenny Britt | Brian Quick | 109 | 1566 | 8 | 0 |
Buff. | Robert Woods | Marquise Goodwin | 80 | 1044 | 4 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson