Speaking to the media Tuesday, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen lamented the loss of veteran safety Coby Bryant to an injury and discussed the plan to replace him.
The Bears confirmed an Adam Schefter report that Bryant is expected to be sidelined 8-10 weeks due to a hyperextended knee, bone bruise and small fracture that he suffered in Monday's practice.
"Obviously, it sucks to lose a guy like that for any particular time," Allen said. "He's a big part of what we have planned to do and will still be a big part of what we have planned to do. But in all adversity also comes opportunity, so it will be another big opportunity for some other guys to step up …
"It's part of football. It's part of what you deal with, and you move on. Hopefully, he'll be on the quicker end, and we'll get him back sooner rather than later."
One option to replace Bryant in the interim is versatile veteran Cam Lewis, who signed with the Bears in March after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Bills. While he had been working at nickel back with Kyler Gordon sidelined, Lewis will "focus a little bit more on the safety position now," according to Allen.
"Guys that are smart and instinctive that can play multiple roles are really valuable within the team," said the Bears defensive coordinator. "He's played safety. He's played dime linebacker. He's lined up at the nickel position. He's lined up outside before. His experience and versatility is … why we have a guy like this. If you have injuries in certain spots, we have guys that we can plug in that aren't just one-spot players; they can play multiple positions."
Allen does not anticipate that Bryant's absence will alter the plan to develop rookie safety Dillon Thieneman, a first-round pick from Oregon who has been lining up with the No. 1 defense.
"I don't think that's going to change a whole lot," Allen said. "Our expectations for him as a rookie is that each and every day he learns a little bit more and he gets a little bit better. There's a lot to learn in the National Football League. There is a lot going on. The volume of what we do is more than what most rookies have ever done before. The volume of what they're seeing from our offense is going to be more than what they're used to seeing. I don't think we put any higher expectations on him. I think our focus is you just 'be you, you do what you do, you continue to come in every day and work the way that you work,' and he'll continue to get better."
With Lewis focusing more on safety, veterans Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell and rookie fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad will get more reps at nickel back.
Asked what he wants to see from Muhammad, Allen said: "I want to see him go out and perform. I want to see him go out and compete. I want to see him play physical in the run game. I want to see him be sticky in coverage.
"Everybody asks, 'What do you want to see out of this guy?' You know what I want to see? I want to see 11 frickin' dudes on the field competing their ass off. And if we do that, then I feel pretty confident that we'll get them to the right spot. But that's what this time of year is all about. This is about developing the culture and the way that you're going to play. That's what I want to see out of all of them. I want to see it out of the frickin' 10-year vet, I want to see it out of the rookie."
Allen believes that anticipation and vision are vital to success at nickel.
"Things happen faster, so your reaction time has to be better," he said. "If you put your eyes in the right spot, you have a chance to be right. If you're looking at the wrong thing, it's hard to be successful. So, what they see inside is a big deal."
