Rehabbing Bears rookie Colston Loveland will be ready for training camp ... right?

Drafting Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick gives Ben Johnson another weapon to give his offense a running start in his first year as the Bears’ head coach. It’s also an early test of an underrated key to his success in Chicago: how his injury luck is running. 

Loveland is coming off surgery on Jan. 29 to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder — an injury that initially occurred Sept. 14 against Arkansas State. 

Loveland told reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in February that he would be ready to participate in OTA/mini-camp practices in the offseason — “run around, catch balls, have the whole range” and be ready for contact by training camp. 

That sounds like a reasonable timeline — and a shoulder is not an ACL or a hamstring. Loveland is “Idaho-tough,” as Bears general manager Ryan Poles put it. And Bears senior director of player personnel Jeff King was optimistic about Loveland’s rehab. 

“We feel good about it,” King said. “We’ve obviously been in contact with him throughout this process and feel good about where he’s at. We’re not going to risk anything early, but we should be good to go by training camp.” 

It figures to work out that way, but keep your fingers crossed. The Bears don’t have a great history with rookie injuries. Kiran Amegadjie, a third-round pick last year, had a tough rookie season coming off surgery for a quadriceps injury as a senior at Yale. 

The Bears were hopeful he would be ready for training camp, but he missed the first month and had just 125 snaps on offense. His only start, against the Vikings in Week 15, was a disaster — four penalties, two sacks and five pressures. 

Amegadjie is still a legitimate prospect to develop into an NFL starter. But his late start cost him an opportunity to prove that last year, after Braxton Jones missed the final five games with an injury. That’s one reason why the Bears are likely looking for a left tackle with the 39th or 41st pick in the draft Friday night.

But the Bears have their share — probably more than their share — of draft picks whose careers were impacted by early injuries: 

— Offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, the Bears’ second-round pick (No. 39) in 2021 who had back issues at Oklahoma State, was on the sidelines with what appeared to be a minor back issue when training camp started. Jenkins, pegged to be the starting left tackle as a rookie, had back surgery in mid-August and did not play until Week 13 of his rookie season. 

Jenkins recovered from that injury but couldn’t avoid others. While often playing at a Pro Bowl level when healthy, he started just 38 of 68 games in his four-year Bears career, started and finished just 20 and was injured during a game 12 times. 

— Wide receiver Kevin White, the Bears’ first-round pick (No. 7 overall) in 2015, suffered what appeared to be a minor leg injury during mini-camp in June. But when training camp opened, White was on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list with a shin injury — a precautionary measure, GM Ryan Pace said at the time. By mid-August he was scheduled for surgery for a stress fracture and he never played as a rookie. 

White recovered from that injury but couldn’t avoid others. He played just couldn’t avoid injuries and played just four games (408 snaps on offense) in three seasons with the Bears — with 25 receptions, 285 yards and no touchdowns. 

— Offensive tackle Gabe Carimi, the Bears’ first-round pick in 2011 (No. 29), was healthy coming into his rookie season and was a Week 1 starter. But he suffered a knee injury in his second game and was expected to return, but then had arthroscopic surgery on Nov. 11 that wasn’t expected to put him on injured reserve, but then was put on injured reserve on Nov. 18 and his rookie season was over. 

Carimi, the Bears’ best offensive lineman in the two games he started, according to offensive line coach Mike Tice, was never the same. He played in 18 games in two seasons before being traded to the Buccaneers in 2013. 

— Offensive tackle Chris Williams, the Bears’ first-round pick in 2008 (No. 14 — 12 picks before five-time Pro Bowler Duane Brown by the Texans), had back issues coming into the draft. He left his second practice with back spasms, which appeared minor, but had surgery to repair a herniated disc in mid-August and missed the first seven games of the season. Williams started the next two games — including 2010 when the Bears reached the NFC Championship Game — but was puton IR with a wrist injury in 2011 and released five weeks into the 2012 season. 

Promising Bears rookie defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek was out with a "minor" foot injury on Aug. 14, 2006. On Aug. 28 he was put on injured reserve.

— Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek, a third-round pick in 2006 (No. 73), was a big hit early in training camp as a rookie, but suffered a “minor” foot injury on Aug. 14. He was put on injured reserve two weeks later, ending his season. Dvoracek started Week 1 the following season, but suffered a torn ACL in the opener and again was put on injured reserve. He was put on IR again in 2008 after starting the first 12 games and never played again. 

— Offensive tackle Marc Colombo, a first-round draft pick in 2002 (No. 29) became a starter in Week 6 as a rookie, but suffered a devastating and freak dislocated kneecap in his fifth start. It was a season-ending injury but “not as severe as we had feared” coach Dick Jauron said. 

Unfortunately, Colombo’s rehabilitation was beset with complications, including nerve damage that forced him to miss the entire 2003 season and limited him to nine games in the 2004 and 2005 seasons before he was released. 

Surprisingly — to Bears fans, certainly — Colombo quickly recovered after signing with the Cowboys. He was participating on special teams 11 weeks after the Bears cut him, and ended up starting 92 of 100 games in the following six seasons with the Cowboys (five) and Dolphins (one). 

That’s mostly, if not entirely, a tale of bad luck that impacts some teams more than others. But, especially in the NFL, the fickle finger of fate can have a huge impact on success of any coach or general manager. 

Who knows what makes the difference? Last year the Bears’ offensive line missed nine games for injury. Ben Johnson’s Lions’ offensive line missed six. But the Bears also had 21 in-games injuries that cost starters 393 total snaps; the Lions had five in-game injuries costing starters 24 total snaps. 

The Bears already have fortified their offensive line for Johnson’s offense. But can he have the same good fortune when it comes to continuity? That’s something he likely does not control. 

When it comes to that kind of good fortune, some teams have it and some teams don’t. The Chiefs drafted Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons in the first round (No. 32). He’s coming off major surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, an injury he suffered last October. 

Simmons’ timetable is similar to Loveland’s — limited in OTAs and mini-camp practices but “definitely” ready for training camp, according to coach Andy Reid.

Injury luck runs hot and cold, even for Reid. Patrick Mahomes has made some miraculous recoveries, but the injury to left tackle D.J. Humphries arguably led to the loss in the Super Bowl. By training camp, we’ll have an update on how his luck is running, and Ben Johnson’s as well.