The Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed that Bryant had surgery on Friday and will now miss four to six months. While he is not expected to feature in the regular season, the team are hoping he can be healthy in time for the playoffs. With that in mind, the 27-year-old could be back in action as early as mid-December.
Initially, ESPN's Adam Schefter suggested the safety could be out for 8-10 weeks, allowing for a potential return as early as Week 3, but the prognosis turned out to be much worse.
According to Johnson, the severity of the injury was "what I've been told all along."
Bryant suffered the injury on August 3 in a 1-on-1 play against Cole Kmet, as he landed awkwardly, holding his left knee. The media noted that Bryant attempted to walk off the field on his own, but ultimately needed to be carted off.
Johnson spoke on the significance of Bryant's injury for his side.
“Coby is the template for how we all want our team to play. He was a big part of - offense, defense and special teams - the mentality, the mindset, the approach. We loved everything about it."
The Cleveland, Ohio-born Bryant had signed a three-year, $40 million deal during the offseason as he was set to form Chicago's safety duo along with rookie Dillon Thieneman. Instead, they are now likely to opt for veteran Xavier Woods, signed earlier this month, to fill in.