Danny Trevathan injury leaves biggest shoes to fill on Bears’ defense

The Bears knew they were going to miss Danny Trevathan when the veteran linebacker sat out Sunday’s game against the Packers with a calf injury.

“Danny had been playing very good for us for a good four- or five-week stretch where he played his best football for us since he got here,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “So obviously you’re going to miss a guy like that when he goes down.”

No doubt about it. But the Bears also knew they were going to miss Jerrell Freeman. They also know they were going to miss Willie Young. They also knew they were going to miss Prince Amukamara. And despite those absences, the defense showed consistent growth through most of the season as the Bears solidified a top-10 ranking in total defense.

They’re still there at ninth, but they took a step back in a 23-16 loss to the Packers last week. After getting eight takeaways in their three previous games, the Bears had none against the Packers. They also were victimized by misplays and a lack of cohesion. Nick Kwiatkoski, starting for Trevathan, led the Bears with 10 tackles. But Trevathan’s absence still loomed large.

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Until the injury, Trevathan had been one of the Bears’ best success stories after returning from a patellar tendon injury. In three games before the calf injury, he had three tackles for loss, including two sacks, a fumble recovery, two pass breakups and 23 tackles against the Ravens, Panthers and Saints.

“It’s definitely different [without Trevathan],” Kwiatkoski said. “He’s a guy who can control the field. He’s a playmaker. But injuries happen. We can’t skip a beat without him out there. It definitely is different. But it’s football.”

Trevathan didn’t practice again this week, is not expected to play against the Lions on Sunday and could be out for a while.

“Calves are just like hamstrings,” Fangio said, “but they don’t happen as often, so everybody’s not used to hearing about them.”

Until Trevathan returns, the Bears will lean on Kwiatkoski, who learns well but needs experience to accelerate the process.

“Mistakes happen, but as far as recognizing them, I feel like I’m better at that than I was a year ago,” said Kwiatkoski, a fourth-round pick from West Virginia in 2016. “Just knowing what’s going on, I can tell on the field if I made a mistake right away; I know what I have to do, so I’m going to correct it. Last year, it wasn’t as easy — something I maybe had to see on film.”

NOTE: In March, the Bears will break ground on an expansion project that will double the size of Halas Hall, the team announced Friday. It’s expected to be finished by August 2019.

A 162,500-square-foot building will be added to Halas Hall, which currently is 143,000 square feet. The new building essentially will be a player training and performance center. It will include a 13,000-square-foot indoor turf field, a 133-by-26-foot video projection wall and a virtual-reality room. The weight room also will be expanded by 2,000 square feet.

General manager Ryan Pace spearheaded the project in an effort to modernize the Bears’ football operations. Team officials toured college and NFL facilities in the offseason for ideas.

Follow me on Twitter @MarkPotash.

Email: mpotash@suntimes.com