The Bears activated third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie from the Non-Football Injury list Sunday, clearing the way for him to practice for the first time with the team.
The Hinsdale Central alum had surgery in October after hurting his quad while playing at Yale. The injury hurt his draft status, but he was chosen No. 75 overall after starting his last 24 games for the Bulldogs. He was a first-team All-American despite last year despite playing a shortened season.
Amegadjie is an intriguing prospect at tackle and could be, one day, a challenger to Braxton Jones on the left side. He’s unlikely to make any major gains soon, though, as just getting back into the routine of practice will be something he hasn’t done, on any level, in 10 months. He has participated in team meetings and walk-throughs despite missing rookie minicamp, voluntary minicamp, mandatory minicamp and training camp.
“He’s getting stronger, he’s getting faster every day in his rehab,” offensive line coach Chris Morgan said earlier this month. “He’s doing an unbelievable job in the classroom, you know, so (I’m) super-excited to get him back out there.”
The Bears rookie has a long way to go. But the splash plays that indicate an upgrade the Bears were looking for, and his knack for managing the pressure-packed responsibility of becoming a franchise quarterback in Chicago, confirm the hope that he could be the real deal.
The sum of the rookie’s parts seems to be something we haven’t seen in Chicago.