LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) \u2014 Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards had just fractured his left fibula but didn\u2019t want to leave Soldier Field. His team had just completed a thrilling 31-27 comeback win over the rival Packers in a wild-card round game on Jan. 10. <\/p>\n
For all the pain Edwards felt and the frustration he endured with the significant injury setback, he didn\u2019t want to leave the locker room. Edwards had experienced a difficult first two seasons in Chicago, and winning was the reward. A Chicago area native, he had long hoped to enjoy victories like this one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to celebrate with the guys and all that, hopping around, which was probably not what I should have been doing,\u201d Edwards said Tuesday in reflecting on that night. \u201cJust excited to be a part of it man, because in this city there\u2019s nothing better than when the Bears are winning, right? <\/p>\n
\u201cWe gave it all this year or this past year, to be in those type games and I\u2019m just really, really happy to kind of see it all pay off and now it\u2019s taking that next step.\u201d <\/p>\n
Edwards was thrilled to see Bears teammates back in Halas Hall on Monday as the team began its offseason program. He has been present at the team facility throughout the offseason while undergoing rehabilitation work. Often times, it has been a lonely feeling in an empty locker room. <\/p>\n
But Edwards is now on the mend. He declined to offer an exact timetable for his return but did point to \u201csummertime\u201d as a goal.<\/p>\n
“I will push as hard as I can to move it as quickly as possible,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cBut I also want to be smart about it too. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be ready when it\u2019s time to go.” <\/p>\n
Once he’s healthy, Edwards will return to a defense that will look different around him. In March, the Bears released linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who had started alongside Edwards for three seasons. Chicago then re-signed linebacker Jack Sanborn after he spent one season in Dallas. The team also added linebacker Devin Bush on a three-year contract. <\/p>\n
As for Edwards, the goal will be getting back to full health and making key contributions for his unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I feel like there’s always been doubt,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI’ve been doubted my entire career, and that’s just fine with me. And I feel like I thrive in that light to be honest with you. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I’m capable of. I know the player I am and what I bring to a team. So, really, the focus on me is just being the best teammate I can be when I get back on the field doing what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) \u2014 Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards had just fractured his left fibula but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,6,7402],"class_list":{"0":"post-871455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicagobears","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-t-j-edwards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116444914299890963","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}