Apparently, the Chicago Bears are at risk of feeling the wrath of the injury bug even during walk through sessions:
Jordan Howard suffered a minor corneal abrasion in the Bears walk thru today, team says.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 18, 2017
Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports running back Jordan Howard suffered an eye injury (specifically, a minor corneal abrasion) during the Bears’ walk through on Friday. While that’s all a really fancy way to say scratched cornea – a problem that could result in discomfort, red eyes, and an enhanced sensitivity to light – Howard had laser eye surgery in the offseason, so perhaps he would be wise to proceed with caution.
Because of the eye problems, the Pro Bowl running back found himself on a list of Bears players who are expected to be inactive or not play in Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Chris Emma of WSCR 670-AM/CBS Chicago has the complete list:
Among the other projected starters who join Howard in missing Saturday’s game include Long (ankle), Wheaton (broken finger), Unrein (concussion), Trevathan (knee), and Callahan (ankle). Seeing Howard and Jeremy Langford, the two top players on the Bears’ running back depth chart, on the inactive list is rather discouraging. But the news isn’t all bad, considering Langford returned to practice earlier in the week.
With this injury update in mind, there are a number of players who could be in a position to take advantage of increased reps and playing time. Among the most notable are running backs Ka’Deem Carey, Benny Cunningham, and Tarik Cohen, defensive ends Jonathan Bullard and Jaye Howard, any number of wide receivers (including Bourbonnais legend Tanner Gentry), as well as Kyle Fuller – who could be in a position to start on Saturday.