If you were worried about Kyle Long’s status after he missed Wednesday’s practice, it’s OK to exhale.
The Chicago Bears’ starting right guard was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, which puts him in line to start on Sunday when the team looks for its third straight win against the New Orleans Saints. The Bears’ official Twitter account tweeted defensive lineman Mitch Unrein and cornerback Bryce Callahan also joined Long at practice as full participants on Thursday.
As for the rest of the injury report, Markus Wheaton (groin), Roy Robertson-Harris (hamstring), John Timu (ankle/knee), and Sherrick McManis remained on the sidelines and did not practice. Wheaton, McManis, and Timu were already expected to be out for a while because of injuries sustained in previous weeks. Robertson-Harris was included on the injury report for the first time this year on Wednesday after suffering a hamstring injury while covering a kick during the team’s Week 7 win against the Carolina Panthers. His status for Sunday’s game is up in the air, but will likely gain clarification after Friday’s practice.
Limited participants included center Hroniss Grasu (hand) and running back/kick returner Benny Cunningham. The Bears seem to have both of those positions covered with interior linemen Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton at full strength, and with Taquan Mizzell and Tarik Cohen lined up to return kicks. And while they should be in no position to rush either player back from injury, it would be nice to have available depth at both spots.
Chicago’s defense has played so well in the last three weeks, it would be quite a shame if the unit was short-handed entering a matchup against Drew Brees and a high-powered Saints offense. But as it stands, no defensive starters are listed on the injury report, which represents one of those times where no news is good news.