A second concussion in barely a month sent rookie linebacker Leonard Floyd out of Saturday’s game against the Washington Redskins and could force the Bears to place the fourth of their last four No. 1 draft choices onto the already crowded IR list.
“He’s in the [concussion] protocol,” coach John Fox confirmed. “That’s really all I can comment on. He was in the meetings today.
"And he’ll continue in the protocol until they say otherwise.”
Floyd, whose rookie season began with missing time at the start of training camp with an illness, missed two games with a calf injury earlier this year and then left the Nov. 20 New York Giants game with a concussion from a collision with teammate Akiem Hicks.
Floyd was still in the concussion protocol and inactive for the Tennessee game Nov. 27. With the season down to a meaningless game next Sunday at Minnesota, Floyd is expected to be sidelined again.
If he is officially consigned to injured reserve, he would follow fellow No. 1’s Kyle Long (2013), Kyle Fuller (2014) and Kevin White (2015) onto the shelf with hopes for a healthier 2017.
Floyd had grown in the defense, starting all 11 of the games for which he was active, collecting 7 sacks and trailing only Willie Young’s team-high 7.5 sacks for the year.
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“I think he’s a very talented player who has a bright future,” said Fox, agreeing that Floyd is still adjusting to the NFL game and its physicality. “I think he’s just a young player learning how to play. And it’s something that I think the more he does it, the better he’ll understand. It’s hard to hit what you can’t see.”