As expected, Justin Fields will not play against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. The Bears announced on Friday that the quarterback will miss the game due to his dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. That paves the way for Tyson Bagent to draw his first NFL start.
That’s obviously the biggest story from the team’s final injury report ahead of this Sunday’s game, but there are other notable developments that will have a big impact on the game.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The biggest boon for the Bears is probably Darnell Wright returning to practice in full after not participating at all on Thursday. Head coaching Matt Eberflus said things are trending in the right direction for Wright to start on Sunday.
“Good to see him back there,” Eberflus said. “He moved around well. We’ll assess that as the weekend goes here but it looked like he was in a good spot.”
That’s especially important since right guard Nate Davis has been ruled out with an ankle injury, and the Bears are already without left tackle Braxton Jones, who’s on injured reserve. Further, the Bears have benched Cody Whitehair at center in favor of Lucas Patrick, so the team already has several moving pieces up front. If Wright can play that will give the unit some important stability in one spot.
Other big developments that should help the Bears are defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and running back Travis Homer carrying no game designation this weekend, meaning they’ve got the full green light to play. Ngakoue is the team’s top pass rusher and is tied for the team lead with two sacks. Homer is an important cog on special teams, and gives the offense valuable depth at running back.
NFL
That depth will be important since Khalil Herbert is on IR and Roschon Johnson is still in the concussion protocol.
“You’re more concerned for the individual, to make sure they’re OK, because that’s a real deal,” Eberflus said about Johnson’s concussion. “When you go through concussion protocol, everybody’s different. Sometimes guys come right back, it’s not that big of a deal. And then some guys have lasting effects. That’s why the NFL has put that concussion protocol in, and it’s for a great reason. We’re stepping in the right direction when it comes to that.”
D’Onta Foreman figures to shoulder the majority of the carries for the Bears, but Darrynton Evans and Homer both figure to mix into the rotation. Homer especially could see snaps when the team needs a pass-protecting back since that is one of his strengths.
On defense, Eddie Jackson was ruled out with a foot injury and Terell Smith was ruled out, as expected, with mononucleosis. Smith will miss several weeks with the illness, but it’s unclear when Jackson will return. Jackson initially hurt his foot in Week 2 and missed three games. He got back on the field last week against the Vikings, but had to leave the game early when the injury flared up again. After the game, the Bears said Jackson could’ve returned if needed, but he went from a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, to DNP on Thursday and Friday, to eventually being ruled up entirely for this Sunday’s game. Elijah Hicks has played at free safety when Jackson has missed time earlier this year.
Finally, Jaquan Brisker popped up on the injury report for the first time this week as a limited participant on Friday with a groin injury.
“He started out practice and we sat him out the last few periods,” said Eberflus. “We feel he’s in a good spot there too, but we’ll have to assess him later today and see where it is.”
Dan Feeney is also questionable to play with a knee injury. Feeney has worked as a third-string swing center/guard recently. Doug Kramer practiced in full all week, but he still has not been activated off of IR. The Bears opened Kramer’s 21-day window to return last Monday, so they still have another week to decide whether or not to activate him, or shut him down for the rest of the year.