Make or Break Year for Bears Defensive Linemen

Ferguson’s 2015 season ended in week 4 when he tore the patellar tendon in his knee. This is a fairly rare injury in football players, and there is no telling how this will impact Ferguson’s play. We as football fans have become accustomed to players having torn ACL’s, cartilage, rotator cuff tears, broken bones, etc. But the torn patella tendon injury is most similar to an Achilles tendon tear.

More from Bear Goggles On

• Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL
• How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023
• The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward
• Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback
• 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears

Where the Achilles tendon connects the muscles of the calf to the heel bone, the patellar tendon connects the muscles in the front of the thigh (quadriceps muscles) and knee cap (patella) to the shin. Where the Achilles tendon assists push-off of the foot, or your first step, the patellar tendon assists driving power and explosiveness through the knee. I’m probably not shocking anyone when I say that driving power through the knee is pretty important in a defensive lineman.

Just to add some more bad times and hard luck to Ferguson’s 2015, while on injured reserved last season he was suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs, which he is currently still serving. Things weren’t going too well for Ferguson leading up to the injury either. In those first 4 games of 2015 Ferguson had 1 tackle, 2 assists, and o sacks. The combination of lackluster performance, injury, and suspension in 2015 makes the 2016 season all the more important for Ego Ferguson.

Next: Will Sutton