When the Chicago Bears drafted Colston Loveland at no. 10 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, there were mixed reactions for some reason.
This was a pure Ben Johnson pick, and the fan base has no ground to stand on in criticizing Johnson's hand-picked first-round talent. But, that's a story for another day.
One of the concerns over Loveland might have been the fact that he is coming off a shoulder injury which required surgery early in the year. That hampered his pre-draft process a bit, of course, but it clearly didn't impact how high he was drafted.
As if that didn't erase enough doubt, Loveland spoke to Bears media after being selected and, sure enough, the injury was one of the first topics at hand.
When asked about dealing with his shoulder injury, and whether or not he would be ready for training camp, Loveland kept it short and sweet, and with a smile, said:
"Oh yeah."
Colston Loveland's shoulder injury was a setback, but not a threat to his career with the Bears
"It was difficult to go through something like that during this process," he admitted.
Loveland went on to credit his faith in God and belief in the path which led him to the Bears. He seemed in high spirits, very calm, collected and sure of his place in Chicago.
It isn't only Loveland, himself, who is confident in his health going forward, though.
Back in February, Dr. Neal Elattrache wrote a letter to all 32 teams stating he believes Loveland would be ready to go for not only training camp, but minicamp, after undergoing surgery in January.
In conjunction with Loveland's no-nonsense response after being drafted, there should be no doubt he'll be a full-go for the bulk of the Bears' offseason.
That will put any doubts or fears to rest coming from a fan base that might have been otherwise anxious in regards to his shoulder injury. But, Loveland's shoulder is a non-issue and he's going to be good to go.
Fans should be awfully excited to see what he can do on the field at the same time with the likes of not only Cole Kmet, but DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, as well. Caleb Williams has a full arsenal at his disposal.