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Grossman out for season with ruptured ACL
By Larry Mayer
September 27, 2004

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Bears' worst fears were realized Monday when an MRI exam confirmed that Rex Grossman ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Sunday's loss at Minnesota and will miss the rest of the season.

The Bears have suffered several devastating injuries, but none figures to be more debilitating to the team's pursuit of a championship than the one to their promising young quarterback.

Grossman is slated to undergo surgery in a couple of weeks and will face 7-10 months of rehabilitation. He was injured with 2:00 remaining in the Bears' 27-22 loss to the Vikings when he planted his foot in the turf as he dove for the goal line on a 6-yard TD run.

Arguably the one player the Bears could least afford to lose, Grossman showed flashes of brilliance in completing 21 of 31 passes for 248 yards in Minnesota. On one play, he eluded a tackler in the backfield, rolled to his left and lofted a perfect pass over a linebacker to running back Thomas Jones for a 27-yard gain.

Backup quarterback Jonathan Quinn now becomes the Bears' starter. The 6-6, 240-pounder threw three straight incompletions and was sacked on fourth down after replacing Grossman on a last gasp drive against the Vikings.

Quinn played in 11 games with three starts in four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1998-2001). Sunday marked the first time he had attempted a regular season pass since Nov. 18, 2001.

Quinn is familiar with coordinator Terry Shea's system, having served as the third-stringer when Shea was Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks coach the past two seasons.

Check ChicagoBears.com later for expanded coverage.

Bears Sign QB Chad Hutchinson


The Chicago Bears in need of quarterback depth have signed free agent quarterback Chad Hutchinson. Hutchinson signed with the Cowboys in February of 2002, receiving a $3.1 million signing bonus after pitching four seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. That season, the Cowboys yanked Quincy Carter after seven starts, force-feeding Hutchinson in those final nine starts, which shorted his seven-year deal to three. The rookie who had not played football the previous four years finished 2-7 as a starter, with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions, not to mention getting sacked 34 times behind a porous offensive line.