Bears LB Houston leaves game with knee injury

Sources confirmed Tuesday that the outside linebacker torn his ACL against the Eagles on Tuesday night.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler left Monday night’s game with a hand injury, making it an even half-dozen Chicago players forced out against the Philadelphia Eagles. He managed to hobble off the field on his own power, but the Bears quickly declared him out for the remainder of the game.

This will mark the second time in Houston’s time with the Bears that he’s lost a significant part of the season due to an ACL tear.

Bears head coach John Fox described the injury as “substantial”, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if this meant the end of Houston’s season. “And we don’t have those results back yet”. He is in the third year of a five-year, $35 million deal and will have a almost $7 million cap hit next season, a steep price for a player that has now missed significant portions of his last three seasons. Houston, who recorded a career-high eight sacks last season with the Bears, was arguably their best pass-rusher and one of their most important pieces on defense.

In his absence, rookie first-round pick Leonard Floyd will be pushed into action. The injury is not believed to be season-ending, but he will be out for the foreseeable future.