Chicago Bears tight end Trey Burton underwent sports hernia surgery earlier this offseason, but the team is hoping he will be ready for training camp, head coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday.
Burton, who missed the NFC Wild Card Game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a groin injury, tried to rest the ailment through the beginning of the offseason, but underwent surgery after the injury didn’t heal properly, Nagy said.
“There was no need for us to keep dragging this out,” the coach said during Wednesday’s OTA workout at Halas Hall. “It was time to just get the thing right, and we feel like we’ve done that.”
Nagy said that the Bears are “hoping” that Burton will be back on the field for training camp when the team heads to Bourbonnais in July.
Burton’s absence leaves the Bears a bit thinner at the tight end position, as the team will be relying more heavily on Adam Shaheen in the coming year. The tight end appeared in six regular season games last season, with five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. He has missed a total of 13 games in two seasons with the Bears.
The Bears do still have Ben Braunecker and Daniel Brown on their roster, and they have converted Bradley Sowell into a tight end.
