Adam Podlesh was one of the best punters in the NFL last year, but after he suffered an injury trying to make a tackle in Saturday’s preseason game, the Bears are getting nervous.
Bears special teams coach Dave Toub said he’s worried about the hip flexor injury Podlesh sustained while chasing Redskins return man Brandon Banks.
“I’m very concerned,” Toub said , via ESPNChicago.com. “It’s a bad injury for a punter to have, a hip flexor, whether it’s the kicking leg or it’s the opposite leg, we’re concerned. He’s going to see a couple of specialists and we’ll figure out what we need to do. It’s a common injury for kickers. Sometimes they get it when they’re kicking and it’s on their kicking leg, and that’s even worse. We’re fortunate that it’s on his opposite leg. It’s more of a stabilizer for him.”
Undrafted rookie Ryan Quigley will handle the punting in Friday night’s preseason game, and free agent punter Matt Dodge has come in for a workout. Neither Quigley nor Dodge is on the same level as Podlesh, who had a net average of 40.4 yards last season and landed 21 punts inside the 20-yard line with only four touchbacks. Injuries to punters aren’t often a major concern in the preseason, but this injury could be a real problem for the Bears.
