Biggs: Could Bears be in market for a linebacker?

ATLANTA—The Bears pulled off one big trade already by acquiring defensive end Gaines Adams on Friday from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Could they be in the market for more help on defense after their 21-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday night at the Georgia Dome? It wasn’t that side of the ball that did Lovie Smith’s team in—the defense had nothing to do with two red zone turnovers—but the club suffered another potentially serious injury at linebacker.

Veteran Pisa Tinoisamoa was taken off the field on a cart with a right knee injury during the third quarter. He had just returned to action after missing three games. Tinoisamoa tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the season opener at Green Bay. He had played very well during preseason and brought a physical presence to the front seven in the first half of the game.

Hunter Hillenmeyer has been out three weeks now with two fractured ribs and has yet to return to practice. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher is out for the season following surgery on his right wrist. It could all add up to put general manager Jerry Angelo in a position to deal again. The Kansas City Chiefs are rumored to be willing to part with Derrick Johnson, who has fallen out of favor there. The trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m.

There is no word yet on the nature of Tinoisamoa’s injury, but that should come soon. Angelo is already without his first- and second-round picks in 2010 because of the Jay Cutler and Adams’ trades. He might hesitate to thin his ’10 draft even more, but he’s starting to run out of bodies. The Bears have already used five different starters at linebacker, and if Tinoisamoa is out this coming Sunday at Cincinnati (that looks likely), Jamar Williams could be forced into duty. He would become the sixth starter the Bears have used.

Stay tuned.

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