Bears' Sam Acho Reveals He Missed Time Because Of Mono

(CBS) Bears linebacker Sam Acho revealed Wednesday night that the illness that kept him out nearly three weeks earlier this season was mononucleosis.

Acho was a bright spot for Chicago in its first two preseason games, then missed the final two because of a then-undisclosed illness. He was cut on Sept. 12, a day before the Bears' season opener against the Packers, but that was merely for roster construction purposes, as Chicago needed another special teamer and backup. He was re-signed soon after.

"We were playing in the preseason, (and I) was doing really well with the chances that I got," Acho said in an interview with 670 The Score's Laurence Holmes. "And then I ended up, I just wasn't feeling well. So we're going through training camp and two-a-days, and I remember, you know, you fight through it. You're tough. It's training camp. But I just wasn't myself.

"I didn't know what was going on. I just wasn't feeling well. So I ended up going to see the doctor. Long story short, they found out that I had mono."

Acho is back to being a special teams contributor now and recorded one tackle last Sunday against the Cardinals.