Knox's Recovery on Schedule.................

Inside the Bears

Johnny Knox on pace to return in July, agent says

By Sean Jensen on February 24, 2012 10:20 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

The agent for Bears receiver Johnny Knox said his client is in good spirits and on track to return to full strength in July.

"His rehab has been going great," agent Marc Lillibridge told the Sun-Times. "He's on the schedule that he planned to be back by early to mid July. He feels good." Lillibridge reiterated the encouraging update from Bears coach Lovie Smith.

"Right now with Johnny, looking at that injury, I'm just counting on him to get better each day and we'll see how it all plays out," Smith said. "There's a long road to recovery. We have time. So we'll just see how it plays out. Johnny's ready to go. Of course, he's one of our guys. And I'm hoping that he'll be OK."

Knox required surgery to stabilize a vertebra in his back after enduring a horrific hit in a 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in December. Lillibridge said Knox hasn't had any setbacks yet and that his quality of life is "as good as it could be" now.

Lillibridge added that his client has been thankful for the support of the Bears medical staff.
"The team has been phenomenal with Johnny's rehab," Lillibridge said. "He couldn't ask for a better staff."

Bears get good news on injury report

http://www.suntimes.com/csp/cms/site...YPE=image/jpeg Offensive tackle Gabe Carimi (72) missed 14 games in 2011 with a dislocated right kneecap. Coach Lovie Smith is excited about his likely return to the staring lineup. | Nam Y. Huh~AP

Updated: February 24, 2012 2:27AM

INDIANAPOLIS — Lovie Smith is expecting Gabe Carimi to give the Bears a needed upgrade at offensive tackle without having to turn to the draft.

But the Bears’ head coach was unsure of whether the second-year right tackle would be ready to start the offseason program after Carimi missed the final 14 games of his rookie season with a dislocated kneecap.
‘‘I don’t know exactly when Gabe will be ready off the top of my head,’’ Smith said Thursday during a press conference at the NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. ‘‘I just know I see him every day working and everything is going as planned.’’

But Smith stopped short of saying for certain that Carimi will be 100 percent for this season. ‘‘There’s no reason to think …’’ he said before switching gears., ‘‘We’re excited about what Gabe Carimi will bring. We talk about adding pieces and I look at him as a free agent we’re adding. He’s a first-round draft pick who barely played for us last year.’’

Elsewhere, Smith said he expects quarterback Jay Cutler and linebacker Brian Urlacher to be fully recovered from injuries. Cutler missed the final six games after suffering a broken thumb against the Chargers on Nov. 20. Urlacher suffered a sprained MCL in the season finale against the Vikings.

‘‘Brian Urlacher is in perfect health right now,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Jay Cutler’s thumb is fine. So we can’t see anything major with injuries that we’re going to have to deal with.’’

But even Smith hinted that it remains to be seen how quickly receiver Johnny Knox recovers from the spinal fracture he suffered against the Seahawks on Dec. 18.

‘‘I’m just counting on him to get better each day and we’ll see how it all plays out,’’ Smith said ‘‘There’s a long road to recovery. We have time. Johnny’s ready to go. He’s one of our guys. And I’m hoping that he’ll be OK.’’
Running back Matt Forte missed the final four games after suffering a sprained MCL against the Chiefs on Dec. 4, but played in the Pro Bowl without any apparent problem.

Great news. Hopefully the Bears can trade Knox in August. ;-)

Glad to hear, but will he be mentally ready to take those hits again? He wasn't exactly one to get physical and fight for the ball before; how will he do now? Desean Jax got concussed a few times and now refuses to do anything but go routes; which has limited his effectiveness. Knox wasn't even to that potential, if the same happens to him he'll be all but useless for all but a few plays a game.

Glad to hear he is recovering, but if he tries to play FB again, I think he is an idiot. The dude almost got killed. Take the money you made (hopefully you saved some of it) and retire. Same goes for Peyton Manning.