Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears have placed rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie on the Non-Football Injury list. NFL insider Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 was first to report the move.
The NFI list is reserved for players whose injuries or ailments did not occur in an NFL practice or during a game. Amegadjie had surgery on October 18 of 2023 to fix a partially torn quadriceps muscle in his final season at Yale. He was never expected to be ready for offseason activities, and training camp was also a question mark, although Bears head coach Matt Eberflus had previously suggested Amegadjie could be ready by now.
“He won’t be available to practice pretty much all through offseason,” Eberflus said on May 10. “We knew about this injury, this quad injury that he had at his college, and we want to get that process in terms of the whole rehab and everything so he’s healthy for training camp, so that’s where he’s going to be.”
When asked on June 12 if he felt Amegadjie would be ready by the start of training camp, which kicked off for rookies on July 16, Eberflus said: “Yeah, we project that. Again, we’ll have to see how the rehab goes in the summer. We project all our guys that missed some time to be back to start camp. But again, we’ll see that as we go.”
Will Kiran Amegadjie Recover From Quad Injury in Time for the Preseason?
That’s got to be what the Bears are hoping for, although it remains unclear when Amegadjie will be ready to put the pads back on again. The Bears selected the rookie tackle in Round 3 of the draft this year, and while Amegadjie hasn’t been active physically since getting drafted, he has been learning Chicago’s offensive scheme.
Coach Flus noted that despite being unable to participate in the physical aspects of the game, the rookie OL was focusing on the “the mental side of” football during OTAs. “His retention, his ability to spit concepts back, be at protection, blocking schemes. He’s been good at it that way,” Eberflus said in June.
“His maturity and perspective are rare for someone his age,” Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy wrote about Amegadjie on X.
Chicago’s preseason kicks off against the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game on August 1. It’s unlikely Amegadjie will be ready by then. The Bears’ regular season begins on September 8, when the Tennessee Titans come to town. That may be a more realistic timetable for his return.
Amegadjie Looking Forward to Playing for Bears
Amegadjie, who allowed just one sack in 860 pass block snaps over his last three seasons at Yale, is a Hinsdale, Illinois native. For him, getting drafted by Chicago is a dream come true. “I grew up a Bears fan watching Devin Hester,” Amegadjie said after getting drafted in April.
Amegadjie also noted he and Bears’ offensive line coach Chris Morgan had an important conversation at a pre-draft meeting in which expectations were discussed.
“We basically put it all on the line what we both want from each other,” Amegadjie said. “And that’s the absolute best, that’s hard work, it’s effort, nothing short of excellence. I’m excited for the journey I’m about to take with him and I’m excited to get to work there.”
In addition to placing Amegadjie on the NFI list, Chicago also placed undrafted free agent defensive end Jamree Kromah on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.