Third-string quarterback Matt Blanchard is the latest Bear to go down.
LAKE FOREST- If the Bears didn’t have enough injuries to deal with, the list of walking wounded just got a little longer. Second year quarterback Matt Blanchard was pulled late in the second half of the Bears preseason victory over San Diego on Thursday night. On Friday, it was revealed that he has a hand fracture and will be out indefinitely. Blanchard was signed in 2012 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
He showed some promise during last year’s preseason, but he was ultimately relegated to the practice squad as Josh McCown and Jason Campbell were the backups to Jay Cutler last year. Heading into this year, Blanchard was expected to compete for a roster spot. The 24-year-old took the reigns and made the most of his opportunity to shine at the Bears rookie minicamp back in May.
After impressing the new coaching staff, his teammates and the media, the Lake Zurich native took that momentum and continued to show tremendous growth during the full squad minicamps and OTAs in June. From there, the man who went undefeated as a college quarterback was on a mission to finally land on an NFL roster.
Before suffering the injury, Blanchard completed 16-of-19 passes for 192 yards and an interception in the last two weeks. He has also been sacked five times during the preseason. He also ran the ball five times for 30 yards. But now, Blanchard will have to watch the rest of the preseason from the sidelines and await his fate come September.
Until then, the Bears still need a third passer to get through the next two weeks. So they went out and signed Jordan Palmer from the free agent market. Palmer is the younger brother of Arizona Cardinals signal caller Carson Palmer. His biggest NFL accomplishment to date was backing up big brother in Cincinnati from 2008-2010. The UTEP alum also played for Washington, Oakland, Jacksonville and made stops in the AFL and the UFL before signing with the Bears.
Back in June, Palmer was one of three quarterbacks {along with JaMarcus Russell and Trent Edwards} to workout for the Bears at Halas Hall. It’s doubtful that he’ll play against Oakland next Friday, but I’m sure he’ll get plenty of reps in the final exhibition on August 29th.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Matt Blanchard will see a specialist for his injury. One can only feel bad for a man who had a lot of hope heading into this season. Here are some interviews I conducted with him during the rookie minicamp:
The Bears will get back on the practice field on Monday. Follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82
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