Byron Pringle placed on Bears injured reserve

Former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Byron Pringle has been placed on injured reserve for the Chicago Bears in his first season outside of K.C.

The Chicago Bears have placed former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Byron Pringle on injured reserve on Tuesday, following the team’s recent win over the Houston Texans in Week 3. Per NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, the Bears placed Pringle on IR and signed linebacker Joe Thomas to take his place on the active roster.

Pringle signed with the Bears this offseason as one of the very first moves in free agency for first-year general manager Ryan Poles, who came over from the Chiefs organization to rebuild the Bears around quarterback Justin Fields.

For the Bears, Pringle has been used even less than he was in Kansas City, sitting low on the depth chart with only three total targets to his name. Pringle has only two catches for 33 total yards on the season so far, although the small sample size speaks for itself. However, the Bears haven’t asked Pringle to return any kicks either, so it will be interesting to see if Pringle can maintain hold on a roster spot if a younger player emerges as a solid contributor.

Pringle left during the first half of the Bears-Texans game with a calf injury and never did return. Given his placement on IR, he must miss the next four games before returning to the active roster and the field.

The Chiefs first signed Pringle as a rookie free agent out of Kansas State in 2018 and he remained on the roster throughout the 2021 season. He put up career highs for the Chiefs in his final year in K.C. with 42 catches for 568 yards and 5 touchdowns.