Darnell Mooney's 'Lucky' Break

Darnell Mooney wound up getting ankle surgery a few weeks earlier than planned, and now he's ready to regain his 2020-21 form, if not a contract extension.

Although a few Bears with injuries during the off-season had special "pitch counts" Wednesday, so to speak, Darnell Mooney was not one of them.

There he was at the first practice, plunging down to the Walter Payton Center artificial turf to dig out a throw at full speed during seven-on-seven. He is ready after "tightrope" surgery to repair an injured left ankle to go the distance.

In a way, the injury suffered against the Jets on the controversial MetLife Stadium turf turned out to be a break.

"I planned on getting surgery on my left ankle after the season, anyways," Mooney revealed. "Just prior issues from my rookie year to my sophomore season here. Just God sitting me down a little earlier and it just happened to be my left ankle, so I was kind of prepared to have a surgery anyways."

For those who may remember, Mooney's 2020 season ended prematurely due to an ankle injury suffered in the regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers. He had to miss the lone playoff game the Bears have had since he's been in the league, a wild-card defeat at New Orleans after they went 8-8 in the regular season.

This injury lingered and he fought through pain with the ankle the next two seasons.

No more. 

The tightrope surgery is done to strengthen the area and he has been doing his utmost all off-season to be ready.

"I've been hitting it hard during the offseason," Mooney said. "I've been going and going.

"I give the kudos to these (team medical) guys. They're slowly putting me through it because they know I can get a little crazy and just do so many things that break down my body. They're getting me out of my own way. I appreciate that from them."

Mooney suffered through a down year regardless of the injury, with just 40 catches through the 12 games he played. He had 142 catches his first two seasons.

He thinks his injury helped him mentally in a way, as he comes back both from the injury and struggles last year in a new offense. The rehab he did away from the team provided time for introspection.

"There are some things you learn when you’re isolated and by yourself for a while," he said. "You learn things about yourself, just have a lot more self-awareness and understanding of the things going on around you."

Like?

"I've got to calm down a lot," Mooney said. "I'm a calm person but in my head, I talk to myself a lot, point out some things that I'm too hard on myself on.

"I don't have to be that hard on myself, just go and enjoy life and just be a good person and be this happy person that I am."

Mooney also would like to get a contract extension, like Cole Kmet received Wednesday. He thinks he's deserving, though it wouldn't be a shock if the Bears wanted to see him do a little more on the ankle before committing.

"I've always told myself and wanted to be that guy, that I'm not a risk," Mooney said. "I'm that guy you can count on. You don't have to worry about me doing my job.

"If that's (extension) something they want to do, that's something they want to do. I'm a professional at football. I don't really do contracts."

The Bears do. If Mooney isn't a no-brainer for a new deal it would likely be because something happened to make his comeback from last year's injury less successful than it appears to have been.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven