The first injury report of the regular season features a familiar name that could be a cause of concern for some Bears fans:
#Bears Thursday Injury Report:
DNP: DeAndre Houston-Carson (forearm/back); OL Kyle Long (ankle)
Limited: DB Bryce Callahan (knee)
Full: Daniel Brown (shoulder)— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) September 13, 2018
Head Coach Matt Nagy opened his Thursday press conference saying the team “came out of the game pretty healthy,” so it’s possible the Bears are continuing to play it cautious with right guard Kyle Long, who did not practice because of an ankle injury. If you’ll recall, an ankle injury was one of the many Long has been dealing with in recent years. So it would make sense for Chicago’s coaches, trainers, and whoever else is part of this decision-making process to play it safe with the team’s starting right guard. It very well could be a maintenance day for Long, who was one of the offense’s best performers in Week 1.
Bryce Callahan (knee) is another new name on the injury report. The Bears top slot corner played 93.3 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, but this group could be in trouble if he is down for a significant amount of time. Cre’von LeBlanc, who was the Bears’ other top-performing slot corner, was released at the end of the preseason and signed with the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. Chicago doesn’t have much depth at that specific spot on the field if Callahan is forced to miss a lot of time, so it would have to get creative in a pinch. And for what it’s worth, the team worked out safety Mike Mitchell earlier in the week.
Let’s not overlook the news that tight end Daniel Brown returned to practice as a full participant. Brown suffered a shoulder injury in the Bears’ final preseason game against the Bills and was inactive for Sunday’s regular-season opener. If Brown is fully healthy, there is a chance he slides onto the active game-day roster in a package where he can be used as a target for Mitch Trubisky to throw to in Week 2.
We’ll see what the next injury update brings us before we approach the ledges of any tall buildings.