Bears put TE Trey Burton on Injured Reserve, ending frustrating season

LOS ANGELES — The Bears put tight end Trey Burton on injured reserve Saturday, ending his season. He finished with 14 catches for 84 yards and no touchdowns.

They filled his roster spot with linebacker James Vaughters, who is eligible to play Sunday at the Rams.

Burton had a career year in his first season with the Bears and delivered 569 yards and six touchdowns on 54 catches. The only downside was a groin injury that kept him out of the playoff game against the Eagles, and everything was a struggle from that point.

Burton eventually needed sports hernia surgery and has not been fully healthy since. He thought he was ready at the start of training camp, but the Bears quickly put him on a conditioning program that kept him out of many practices and all preseason games.

He missed the season opener with a groin injury as well, but seemed to progress from there. That came to halt when he suffered a calf injury against the Lions, and he had already been ruled out for Sunday against the Rams.

Bears coach Matt Nagy acknowledged the possibility of IR on Friday.

“It has been frustrating for us,” he said. “There will be some decisions that we’ve got to collaborate — we’ve got to get together and just talk it through and see what’s best for him and what’s best for us and then decide on that.”

Burton, 28, is in the second season of a four-year, $32 million deal. According to Spotrac’s account of the contract, the Bears can cut him with a $7.5 million dead cap hit. Otherwise, he will count $8.6 million against the cap next season.

Burton hasn’t talked to the media since the injury, but voiced his thoughts in a blog post for Sports Spectrum on Friday.

“This season has been frustrating for me,” he wrote. “Getting injured, having surgery, and then not recovering from the surgery the way we had hoped... Throughout my NFL career to date, I’d never been through anything like this.

“Usually, when I’m on the field, I’m playing to thrive, but more recently, I feel like when I’m out there, I’m just trying to survive. My body is not where I had hoped it would be by this point. At the end of the day, this season of trials is definitely drawing me closer to God.”

He also wrote that he’s been “visiting doctors and still left with tough questions.”