LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Sunday's pivotal overtime win in Detroit came with a price as the Bears lost Mark Bradley for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. The promising rookie receiver was injured without being touched when he turned up field on a 13-yard reception. Bradley grasped his knee in pain after sliding out of bounds and was carted to the locker room with 4:10 left in the second quarter of the Bears' 19-13 victory. Mark Bradley tore his ACL on this 13-yard reception in Sunday's game at Detroit. Bradley exited after catching a career-high five passes for 88 yards including a 54-yarder from fellow rookie Kyle Orton that stands as the Bears' longest play from scrimmage this season. "It's a tough break for Mark," said coach Lovie Smith. "He was having a super game; it was his coming out party you could say. But he'll get back and hopefully come back strong next year." The second-round draft pick from Oklahoma finishes his first NFL season with 18 receptions for 230 yards, second in both categories on the Bears to All-Pro Muhsin Muhammad (34-386). "You have a player that's really coming into his own," Smith said. "He has a great future ahead of him. It's a setback for him, but he'll come back from it. It's hard when you see a young player go down like that, but that's the hand that's been dealt, so we'll just kind of go from there." With Bradley out, Justin Gage is expected to regain the starting job he held the first three games of the season. But with Bernard Berrian also sidelined following thumb surgery, the onus to replace Bradley will be shared by Gage (4-78), Bobby Wade (6-53) and Carl Ford (0-0), a trio that has combined to catch just 10 passes for 131 yards in seven games. "We have other receivers that have played this year for us and it's time for all of them to step up," Smith said. "It's an opportunity. When one person goes down, there's an opportunity for someone else to step up and I think that we've got a few guys that can do that." Mark Bradley was carted off the field late in the first half of Sunday's win in Detroit. Inactive a week earlier against the Ravens, Gage replaced Berrian on the roster Sunday and caught two passes for 47 yards after Bradley was injured. The 2003 fifth-round pick also dropped a key third down pass that would have given the Bears a first down. "I thought Justin Gage played well (Sunday) when he had his opportunity and he'll only get better," Smith said. Rookie receiver Airese Currie, a fifth-round draft pick, could practice for the first time this week since undergoing foot surgery in March. But that won't preclude the Bears from possibly acquiring a player to fill the void created by the injuries to Bradley and Berrian. "We're going to keep all options open right now," Smith said. "Airese Currie is an option that we have. As we do any time we need (to bolster) any position, we'll look at everything that's available. But we have a good football player right here in Airese Currie." In other news Monday, Smith said the bruised ribs that forced Thomas Jones to exit Sunday's game in the fourth quarter are "nothing serious" and the running back "should be OK."
Great. Bradley was our #2 threat. If someone else doesn't step up, teams are just going to swarm Moose. And not only that, this could screw the running game as well.
