LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Many of the Bears' key starters missed a large portion of training camp. There were practices where the Bears had up to 15 key contributors on the sidelines.
On defense, safeties Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson and defense end DeMarcus Walker have all missed significant time in August. Meanwhile, wide receiver Chase Claypool and offensive linemen Nate Davis and Lucas Patrick have been absent for two or more weeks. Add in right tackle Darnell Wright and wide receiver Velus Jones Jr., and the Bears have a concerning list of players deemed day-to-day with less than two weeks to go until kickoff against the Green Bay Packers.
But head coach Matt Eberflus gave an encouraging update Tuesday at Halsa Hall when he claimed that all of the injured players except for offensive guard Teven Jenkins, who is week to week, are on the mend.
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"Everybody looks to be healthy right now," Eberflus said Tuesday. "Looks good. The one guy that's still week to week is Teven. Again, we'll work through that process as we go."
The Packers will arrive at Soldier Field in 12 days, and Eberflus believes almost all of the Bears' walking wounded will be ready to go.
"That's what they're saying," Eberflus said when asked if everyone other than Jenkins is on track to play Week 1. "Everything looks good. We're getting guys in. We had nice, long walkthrough meetings yesterday. We've got the same thing today. And guys are looking there. They're ramping up. Guys that are out are starting to do a lot of land-based stuff. Getting into speeds and cuts and moving around. We'll see where it goes, but it looks good right now."
CHICAGO BEARS
The Bears' injury issues create continuity issues on both sides of the ball.
Since Yannick Ngakoue arrived and began ramping up, the Bears' defense, which believes it has the pieces to be dominant in 2023, has had zero practices in which all key parts were fully healthy.
The rebuilt offensive line took less than 10 padded snaps together before Jenkins went down with a leg injury that could cause him to miss time into September. The planned Week 1 starting offensive line has taken zero padded snaps together, with 12 days to go until kickoff.
The Bears' improved health is a welcome sight, but that trend needs to continue over the next two weeks as both units play catch-up, trying to build on-field chemistry.