Illness Pulls Leonard Floyd From Bears Training Camp Debut

By Chris Emma--

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (CBS) -- Bears rookie linebacker Leonard Floyd took the field Thursday for his first training camp practice with high hopes and a short leash.

Battling a flu bug all week, Floyd was eager to practice, but the Bears' training staff didn't want to force the first-round pick into action. So, during stretching before Day 1 drills began, team trainers removed Floyd to a side tent, then later carted him off.

"I really was begging them to let me go back out there," Floyd said after practice. "They told me to shut it down and try again tomorrow."

Naturally, a sense of panic kicked in throughout the sidelines at Olivet Nazarene, as Bears fans on hand frantically worried that another first-round pick would be missing training camp. A year ago, receiver Kevin White sat out the whole season with a stress fracture in his leg after the Bears took him in the first round.

Fans could be heard commenting on the Floyd situation. However, Floyd is expected to be back on the field Friday.

Floyd is continuing on with a diet plan aimed at him bulking up. He's "still going hard at it" and seems to have added some size. Floyd is also keeping focus on the playbook.

The Bears' No. 9 pick in this past draft, Floyd was ready to go prove himself before the fans. He was upset to be taken off the field.

"I knew everybody was excited about me being out there today, and I didn't want to let anybody down," Floyd said. "I was really mad at the trainers for not letting me go back out there. I'm looking forward to going back out there tomorrow."

True proving ground for Floyd comes Saturday, when he straps on the pads for the first time in the NFL.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace made the bold move to jump up in the draft for Floyd, who didn't put up eye-popping numbers at Georgia in part because of a unique role. Now, Floyd must show he can play the role of NFL edge rusher.

"With the pads on," he said, "I can pretty much go do what I want to."

Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.