Chicago Bears rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie called the first couple of weeks settling in with the team he grew up cheering for “surreal.” , who is from Hinsdale, said he was brimming with excitement about contributing to “the history and culture of my favorite team.” But the 6-foot-5, 326-pound Amegadjie will have to stay patient about contributing on the field.
The Bears have held him out from their offseason program as he recovers from an October surgery on his quad. That injury cut short his 2023 season at Yale, where he was building on a breakout, all-Ivy League 2022 season with the Bulldogs. Yale coach Tony Reno said he knows Amegadjie is itching to get reps on the field – and he believes in what Amegadjie can do once he does.
Reno has watched Amegadjie’s rise from Hinsdale Central to the NFL, and he spoke with the Tribune about how Amegadjie developed and what he will bring to the Bears when he gets back on the field. Kiran came in as a freshman in the COVID year. There were a ton of restrictions on what the kids were allowed to do and what they couldn’t do.
We lost the season. We didn’t play that whole year. He essentially came in as a freshman and didn’t play until a full year later.
He came in as this wide-eyed, long, athletic kid who needed the weight room and had a ton of potential. He had a really good class, good group of guys with him. And he worked.
He was one of those guys who came in and it wasn’t like we had to push him to work.