From the sounds of things, Chicago Bears slot wide receiver Eddie Royal may be a must-have fantasy football pickup by the time the NFL's regular season rolls around. With first-round pick Kevin White shelved for an indeterminate amount of time and presumed No. 1 Alshon Jeffery dealing with a calf strain, Royal and the likes of Marquess Wilson and Josh Bellamy are likely to see quite a few starting reps in the Windy City. While initial reports of Jeffery's condition suggested a one-week timetable, Dr. David Chao, MD. believes the big Bear wideout may miss more time than head coach John Fox wants to admit.
"Alshon Jeffery has a calf injury and a report indicates a mild strain with a one-week return. That may be more 'coach speak' as John Fox originally described it as day-to-day," Chao writes, via NationalFootballPost.com. "It would be beating the odds to go from boot and crutches (even if precautionary) to full-go in one week. Just ask Aaron Rodgers how his calf injury lingered at the end of last season and into the playoffs."
The original report Chao cites is from ESPN's Adam Schefter, who pegged Jeffery's return to action at one week. However, as Windy City Gridiron noted prior to Schefter's report, the team had Jeffery in a walking boot after he sustained the strain. Even if that is just a precaution, as Chao suggest may be the case, it seems, based on Chao's medical experience, that a quick return from such an injury and such a treatment is very unusual.
What seems more likely is that Jeffery will miss more than just one week and the Bears and quarterback Jay Cutler will continue to do their best to make do with Royal, Wilson, Bellamy and Marc Mariani for the remainder of the preseason.
As for White, Chao believes his timetable for return will be three to six months, making him an ideal candidate for long-term IR. Per Chao, White is highly likely to return to 100 percent after the injury and procedure, so at least Bears fans have that going for them.
