Chicago Bears back up running back Michael Bush finished the season on the injured reserve list. A rib injury caused him to miss the end of the season.
But Bush played most of the season with a fractured shoulder he said. The fracture, in his right shoulder, occurred in a week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
“How did I play through it?” Bush told the Chicago Tribune. “The same way I was going to play through the rib injury until I realized (the rib injury) was worse than what it was. That’s just me. Once I broke my leg (in college) … if it ain’t my leg and it ain’t my feet and I can still walk around and run, I’m going to play.”
You could say that his play declined last season. The shoulder injury could be truth, or a fabricated excuse to cover up career lows.
He played a career low 13 games, which probably caused his career low 411 yards rushing in a season. His previous low was 421 yards in 15 games as a rookie.
The more telling stat is probably is his career low 3.6 yards per carry stat. It is part of a 3 year decline since his 4.8 yards per carry high in his second season.
His 31.6 yards per game was his second lowest mark in his career.