David Montgomery out through Chicago Bears bye week

On Monday, the Chicago Bears got good news when they heard that David Montgomery did not tear his ACL. However, that was met with the idea that while the injury was not season-ending, it was going to be some time lost. On Tuesday, Bears fans got news of just how long the team will be without David Montgomery.

According to reports, he is expected to miss four or five weeks.

The timing of the injury being five weeks seems to coincide with the Chicago Bears by week. While they have five weeks until the bye week, one could assume that the team would play it safe and give him an extra week during the bye, and he comes back fresh after.

Of course, if he is closer to the four weeks on the timetable, perhaps he suits up the week before the bye but plays minimally to get his feet wet. A short increase during his first game back, then the bye week to rest up could lead to him being unleashed with no fair of a minor reinjury during his first game back.

Chicago Bears will rely on Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert

The Bears will play the Raiders, Packers, Bucs, 49ers, and Steelers over the next five games. Those games were not going to be easy with Montgomery, but now, things are even less optimistic without their star running back.

Still, one good note is that the team is prepared for this. Last year they had Ryan Nall and Cordarrelle Patterson as their backups. Now, they signed Damien Williams and drafted Khalil Herbert with the thought of having depth in case this happens.

Williams was banged up in the win over the Lions, but it is much less serious. Still, that speaks to why the team did not stop with Williams and wanted to fill the room with Herbert. They are much more prepared to handle Montgomery’s loss today than they were at this point last season.