When Jerrell Freeman went down for the season in Week one, some saw the glass half full as the Chicago Bears being able to get a good long look at their second-year linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. Kwiatkowski started seven games as a rookie in 2016b with Danny Trevathan and Freeman shuffling in and out of the lineup. He showed some ups and left the idea that he could be a future starter.
His chance came earlier than expected in 2017 until injury snatched that away. A pectoral injury got Kwiatkowski 16 plays into the week two loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.