NEWSLETTER
One name missing from Thursday’s injury report represents some good news for a Chicago Bears team that needs it.
Kyle Long was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, marking the first time he wasn’t limited since before the team’s Week 8 game against the New Orleans Saints. Long injured his hand on the team’s first offensive scrimmage against the Saints, but did not return. He was listed as “limited” in practice in the week leading up to the team’s Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers, but did not start at his normal right guard position. In fact, Long played just one snap – on special teams – in the team’s loss.
Head Coach John Fox wasn’t sure about Long’s status for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions when asked about it earlier in the week, but being a full-go on Thursday provides a bit of clarity for the situation.
Joining Long as full participants on Thursday were defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris and cornerback/special teams stud Sherrick McManis, both of whom were nursing hamstring injuries that caused them to miss time.
And now, the bad news:
#DaBears Thursday injury report:
DNP: Sims (illness) Trevathan (calf) Callahan (knee)
LIMITED: Compton (ankle) Acho (shoulder)— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 16, 2017
It’s starting to feel unlikely that inside linebacker Danny Trevathan will play on Sunday against the Lions. Trevathan missed practice again with a calf injury he suffered during the team’s loss to the Saints on October 29. Trevathan played through the injury, which has worsened to the point the team’s top inside linebacker hasn’t practiced since the team returned from its bye week. Joining Trevathan in sitting out practice were cornerback Bryce Callahan (knee) and tight end Dion Sims (illness).
None of these three players have practiced since before the bye week and each player’s absence chips away at the Bears’ depth.
Losing Callahan might be the toughest blow the Bears will deal with in Week 11. While Trevathan is a better player and his presence as a run defender was sorely missed against the Packers, Detroit hasn’t rushed the ball effectively consistently in 2017. A sidelined Callahan leaves the Bears’ secondary short-handed and highlights a potential mismatch that tilts the scales heavily in favor of the Lions. Wide receiver Golden Tate has lined up in the slot 81 percent of the time. If Callahan can’t give it a go, it will be up to Cre’von LeBlanc (who shined against Detroit last year) to match up against one of the NFL’s best inside receivers.
Chicago seems best suited to fight the war of attrition at tight end, where rookie Adam Shaheen saw a significant increase in playing time – even if he was out-snapped by backup Daniel Brown. The team also called up Ben Braunecker from the practice squad before the Green Bay game, but didn’t figure into the offensive action. A healthier Markus Wheaton could allow the Bears to deploy some more multi-receiver sets against Detroit.
Offensive lineman Tom Compton (ankle) and linebacker Sam Acho (shoulder) were both listed as limited participants.
