The Bears’ three-man battle for one starting cornerback spot is down to two after Artie Burns hurt his left knee during Tuesday morning’s training camp practice.
Burns, a former Steelers first-round pick whom the Bears signed to a one-year deal in March, tore his anterior cruciate ligament, a source confirmed. He’ll miss the season.
Burns, who was helped off the field after falling down during a drill, was set to compete with Kevin Toliver and second-round pick Jaylon Johnson for the starting job opposite Kyle Fuller.
Johnson is the favorite. He is practicing and appears healthy after recovering from right shoulder surgery that took place in early March.
Burns was trying to revitalize his career after playing only 6 percent of the Steelers’ defensive downs last year. He practiced with the first team on Monday, though head coach Matt Nagy said it was part of a rotation.
“Artie is a first round draft pick and has been in this league,” Nagy said Monday. “He has experience. So just naturally for him to be able to come in here with Kevin Toliver, I think that that’s normal. You’ll probably end up seeing more and more reps as the days and weeks go on with Jaylon because we need to evaluate.
“That’s a very important position that we need to get right. And only time will tell with reps.”
