Bears LB Danny Trevathan is amazingly ‘full speed’ and ‘ready to go’

SHARE Bears LB Danny Trevathan is amazingly ‘full speed’ and ‘ready to go’
screen_shot_2017_08_04_at_9_57_21_am.png

Danny Trevathan. (AP)

Linebacker Danny Trevathan wants you to know something about him if you think the Bears are throwing him into the proverbial deep end.

“I can swim,” Trevathan said Thursday in advance of his first game since knee surgery, the season opener Sunday against the high-scoring Falcons. “Confidence is key. They’re a good team. We all know that. Everybody knows that. But we’ve got to be the best team come Sunday.”

It’s actually remarkable that Trevathan will be part of that Bears team in the first place.

Coach John Fox declared that Trevathan is “full speed and ready to go” less than 10 months after he ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee against the Titans on Nov. 27.

“He’s a big part of us,” Fox said.

In many ways, Trevathan’s return is emblematic of the defense. The Bears are expected to field a formidable unit this season, but injuries remain problematic.

He’s in the same boat as outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, who is returning from his own knee injury. Trevathan is a notable free-agent signing who is determined to prove his worth again.

“I feel great; I feel 100 percent,” said Trevathan, who signed a four-year contract worth $15.5 million guaranteed last offseason.

“It’s the first game. I’m excited. I can’t wait to get back out there. It’s been awhile since Week 13 [of last season].”

Trevathan called his recovery process “a piece of cake” compared to what he endured with the Broncos when he underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee in January 2015 after a dislocated knee cap. The surgery marked the end of a very difficult 2014 season for Trevathan that also featured two other separate fractures around his left knee.

“It was easy for me just knowing [what to do] and being a veteran and having guys behind me having my back,” Trevathan said, mentioning linebacker Jerrell Freeman and defensive end Akiem Hicks.

“His recovery stayed on schedule the whole way,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “He didn’t have any setbacks. We expected him to start practicing mid-camp, which he did, and he’s been able to progress good since then. He brings speed to our defense — [that’s] obviously No. 1. He does play the run good, and hopefully the inactivity from no preseason games won’t set him back, either.”

The Bears still will be cautious with Trevathan, making a rotation with second-year linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski a real possibility. But he’s not listed on the injury report.

“I’m looking forward to knocking somebody out,” Trevathan said. “We’ve been simulating here, running through tackles here, taking care of our guys but still giving them a little thud. But that first tackle come Sunday is going to be very special.”

Follow me on Twitter @adamjahns.

Email: ajahns@suntimes.com

RELATED STORIES

First step: Bears G Kyle Long practices, but not yet ready to play

Bears chairman George McCaskey on struggles, draft, QBs & expectations

hogejahns.jpg

The Latest
Illinois has the most operating nuclear reactors among all the states, but it’s been crickets from public officials on the potential weakening of nuclear oversight.
Woman no longer wants to be with man who pays no rent and asks for gambling money.
Chicago has so much riding on this casino’s success. Mayor Johnson says he’s not worried, but Bally’s $800 million financing hurdle is just the latest glitch in the project’s bumpy road.
Enbridge’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline trespasses through sovereign tribal lands and is an environmental disaster waiting to happen, Ben Jealous writes.
A long primary campaign season reaches its crescendo Tuesday. Here’s a final look at the top races on the ballot.