NEWSLETTER
Cornerback Prince Amukamara missed his second practice leading up to the Bears’ Week 14 against the Cowboys, which has brought a cloud of doubt as to what his status will be for Thursday’s game.
During his Tuesday press conference, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy told reporters Amukamara reported the hamstring issue to the team after the team’s Thanksgiving win against the Lions. Since then, Amukamara hasn’t returned to the practice field. That isn’t ideal, to say the least.
Amukamara’s absence from practice could leave Chicago in a tough predicament if he can’t suit up on Thursday Night Football. Because while Nagy wouldn’t give an inkling as to Amukamara’s playing status, common sense tells youit is tough to give it a full-go on a hamstring injury … and that is before thinking about how the opponent lines up the likes of Amari Cooper, Randall Cobb, and Michael Gallup on the outside. If Amukamara can’t go, then Buster Skrine could conceivably slide to the outside and be a boundary corner in bigger packages. And if the Bears find themselves in nickel and/or dime as their base package throughout the night, then it would make sense for Skrine to stay inside the slot, while moving second-year corner Kevin Toliver II into Amukamara’s role.
The Bears will share another injury on Wednesday, which will include a status report for Amukamara. Until then, you can check out the rest of the injury report embedded below:
#Bears Tuesday injury report: pic.twitter.com/KcCqEFsITj
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) December 3, 2019
Tight end Ben Braunecker and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel remain in concussion protocol. Right tackle Bobby Massie continues to be sidelined with an ankle injury and could still miss a few weeks. Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan is still out with the elbow injury he suffered in the first Lions game. And then there is defensive lineman Bilal Nichols, who as limited as the Bears practiced inside as they treated this as a Friday practice (even though it is just Tuesday).
The Bears’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, so it will be all healthy hands on deck on Thursday against a Cowboys team fighting for their own playoff lives.
