The Chicago Bears are holding out hope that tight end Adam Shaheen could return to the active roster as early as Sunday:
Nagy on possibility of TE Adam Shaheen being active for #SNF: “I hope so but I don’t know.”
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 16, 2018
Shaheen hasn’t seen a game-situation since August when he suffered a foot/ankle injury that caused him to miss two preseason games and each of the Bears’ first nine contests of the regular season.
So, yes, it’s been a lengthy rehab process for the 2017 second-round pick, one the Bears hope ends with a return to the playing field soon. Shaheen returned to practice last week, but his status for game action has been up in the air since. Ben Braunecker’s return to the lineup eases the pressure on the Bears to force Shaheen back into action. Then again, that probably wasn’t going to happen anyway because the team has taken every extra precautionary measure to get players as healthy as possible. So I guess we’re in wait-and-see mode until a move is finally made.
As for Friday’s updated injury report, it features names we’ve grown accustomed to seeing here recently:
#Bears Friday Injury Report:
DNP: Dion Sims (concussion)
Limited: Bilal Nichols (knee)
Full: Javon Wims (knee)
Game Status: Sims (out); Nichols (questionable); Wims (questionable)— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) November 16, 2018
Tight end Dion Sims is out for Sunday’s first-place showdown against the Minnesota Vikings. In addition to Sims’ appearance on the injury report, a pair of rookies (defensive tackle Bilal Nichols and wide receiver Javon Wims) are questionable for Sunday after being limited in Friday’s practice.
Sims hasn’t practiced in two weeks as he has been sidelined with a concussion. Since the NFL is taking head injuries more serious now than at any previous point in the league’s history, it’s understandable why the team is proceeding with caution. It’s also worth pointing out that Sims dealt with concussion issues in the preseason that kept him from traveling, so his status moving forward is something worth monitoring.
This is Wims’ second straight day on the injury report. Wims dealt with a knee issue in practice on Thursday and the Bears are limiting him at this time. On a similar wavelength, the team is proceeding with caution when it comes to Nichols, a stand-out fifth-round pick who sat out the team’s win against the Bills, but came back a week later and played 29 snaps against the Lions. Nichols is a key cog in the Bears’ defensive end rotation with Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris. Chicago could use all the front-line help it can get when facing what could be a fearsome Vikings rushing attack if Dalvin Cook is healthy.
Waiting for the Bears’ injury report still gives me the heebie-jeebies, but this week was less threatening than others have been in the past. Now, let’s see if the Bears can continue to ride this wave of good fortune to another win.