The Bears shared a mix of good news and bad news in their first injury report of the week. Let’s start with the bad: tight end Cole Kmet (knee), center Lucas Patrick (knee) and wide receiver Darnell Mooney (concussion) all did not participate in practice on Wednesday. But left guard Teven Jenkins (concussion), running back D’Onta Foreman (personal), wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (pectoral) and linebacker Noah Sewell (knee) all returned to practice and fully participated.
Kmet dealt with a quadriceps injury in the week leading up to the Cardinals game, but the pain didn’t get in the way of a spectacular first half performance where he hauled in four catches for 107 yards. But Kmet hurt his knee in the second quarter and did not return to the game. It’s unclear when Patrick hurt himself since no injury was reported over the course of last Sunday’s game.
Mooney also appeared to be healthy as the Bears left Soldier Field to enjoy Christmas Eve. But Mooney came into Halas Hall on Monday self-reporting concussion-like symptoms. The team tested him and placed him in the protocol.
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“Many times that happens where a guy comes in, doesn't feel right, they test him and he's in the protocol,” Eberflus said.
Foreman missed last week’s game due to a personal reason.
“There was some stuff going on, a lot of mental stuff going on and also stuff back home,” Foreman said. “There was some stuff I needed to run through and get my mind back clear, and get back to a good place.
“I’m much better now than I was last week.”
NFL
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Jenkins remains in the concussion protocol, but Jenkins was still able to fully participate in Wednesday’s practice, which was split between individual work, seven-on-seven drills and walkthroughs. Jenkins suffered the concussion partway through the team’s Week 15 game against the Browns and he’s been in the protocol ever since. He can be cleared out of the protocol as early as Wednesday night.
St. Brown and Sewell have each missed several weeks with their respective injuries. St. Brown has largely worked as a depth wide receiver, while Sewell has contributed mostly on special teams.