Chicago Bears Offseason Stock Watch: Trey Burton
Has the stock of the Chicago Bears starting tight end gone up or down this offseason?
The end of Trey Burtons first season in Chicago did not go the way that he had planned. Burton missed the Chicago Bears playoff game against his old team the Philadelphia Eagles. To make missing the game worse, he lost to his old team and had to be ridiculed for not missing the game.
The injury was a bit suspicious until OTAs when Matt Nagy admitted that Burton had offseason surgery for a hernia issue. Nagy sounded optimistic but was also very vague in how he talked about the issue.
In fact, he would not confirm whether the surgery took place around OTAs, or if it was right at the end of the season. He danced around the question. When asked about a similar injury to Emanuel Hall, Nagy mentioned that they had procedures are done at a similar time, which would suggest the surgery was after the draft.
The timing is questionable and it leaves Burton questionable to start the season. The team did sign Dax Raymond, who profiles to fill a similar NFL role to Burton. Of course, this is a precautionary measure.
Still, what if the Bears are precautionary with Burton. Burton is small for a tight end and wore out with the most usage of his career. Now, he has surgery late into the offseason. He appears to be ready for the start of the season, but it is not guaranteed yet. Could the Bears start Raymond for a week or two and see how long they can rest Burton?
It seems to be flying under the radar, but Burton is far from locked into a better 2019 than 2018.