Jerrell Freeman and Quintin Demps entered the season as the Chicago Bears’ defensive captains, but neither will be available when the team travels to face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football.
Head coach John Fox announced Demps suffered a broken arm in Sunday’s 23-17 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Demps left the game in the fourth quarter injured, walking off the field while favoring his arm and did not return to the game. He will become the fifth starter who will miss at least one game because of an in-game injury during the regular season, joining Freeman, receiver Kevin White, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, and guard Josh Sitton.
Fox isn’t sure if Demps’ broken arm will require a trip to injured reserve. If it does, Demps will become the eighth active player to be placed on IR in 2017.
Demps’ injury could open the door for safety Adrian Amos to reclaim a starting spot. Amos started 31 games in his first two seasons with the team and played admirably well for a fifth-round pick. However, Amos was demoted out of the starting lineup when rookie Eddie Jackson wowed Bears coaches with how he practiced and played in the preseason. Amos has played 15 defensive snaps on Sunday after playing just one snap in the season’s first two weeks.
Because the Bears play Thursday at Lambeau Field, the team will issue a full injury report later in the afternoon. Expect to see Hroniss Grasu on it after Fox shared that his starting center suffered a hand injury in Sunday’s win, though refused to offer up any further details. Grasu played just 14 snaps before suffering the injury in the first quarter. Even though the Bears listed his return as questionable, Grasu never made it back into the starting lineup and was seen on the sideline wearing a cast on his left wrist.