NEWSLETTER
It’s not as if the Chicago Bears are intentionally playing a cat-and-mouse game, but we’re not going to have much of an idea what the starting offensive line will look like until game time.
Guard Josh Sitton (ribs) and center Hroniss Grasu (hand) were listed as questionable on Wednesday’s injury report. Sitton left the team’s Week 2 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a ribs injury that caused him to sit out the Week 3 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Grasu injured himself early in the win against Pittsburgh, suffering a hand injury that was put in a cast during the game. His return was listed as questionable after leaving the game, but Grasu never returned.
The look of the Bears’ starting line will depend on which players are healthy at game time. If Sitton is OK to play, it will mean the line is at full strength for the first time this season. The interior trio of Sitton, Kyle Long, and Cody Whitehair had Pro Football Focus calling the unit the fifth best in the league entering the year. Unfortunately, that group hasn’t been healthy at the same time and thus unable to prove why it achieved such lofty status.
If Sitton *ISN’T* ready to go, but Grasu *IS* then we are likely to see Whitehair move back to left guard. But it isn’t 100 percent certain to be the case. When Grasu left because of injury, Bradley Sowell filled in at left guard in a move that allowed Whitehair to slide back into his role as the team’s center.
The Bears have options, but the one with a healthy Sitton is the one that has the most upside.
Also on the injury report, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (pectoral/chest) is listed as doubtful, while Quintin Demps (broken arm) is listed as out.
