The latest from the updated Chicago Bears injury report provides a little bit of clarity regarding who could be on the active 46-player roster for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals:
Bears injury report: CB Marcus Cooper (hamstring) and S DeAndre Houston-Carson (forearm) are both ruled out for Sunday’s game. Kyle Long didn’t practice today, but it was a rest day.
— Colleen Kane (@ChiTribKane) September 21, 2018
Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports that cornerback Marcus Cooper and safety DeAndre Houston-Carson are both OUT for Sunday’s game.
Houston-Carson hasn’t played a game since suffering a forearm injury the team’s preseason exhibition against the Denver Broncos on August 18. But because the team didn’t put Houston-Carson on injured reserve to start the season, there has been a belief that he could come back sooner than originally expected. Houston-Carson had carved his niche on the team as a core special teams member and reserve safety prior to the injury, so his return would be welcomed by each of those groups.
No other Bears player (besides Houston-Carson) showed up on the injury report earlier in the week, so Cooper’s name being on the injury report is a bit of a surprise. Cooper’s first appearance on the injury report in 2018 means he won’t get his opportunity for a revenge game as the Bears return to Arizona. Cooper played for the Cardinals in 2016, coming up with four interceptions (including a pick-six) in 15 games in his only year with the team.
With Houston-Carson and Cooper out of the lineup, cornerback Kevin Toliver II looks like the next man up for the Bears in the secondary and on the special teams unit. Toliver was active for the Bears’ Week 2 win against the Seahawks and played one special teams snap. We could also see an increased work load for Sherrick McManis, a cornerback by trade who has long been a special teams ace in Chicago. McManis, who was in on 10 defensive snaps in Week 2, hadn’t played double-digit snaps on the defensive side of the ball since Week 2 of the 2016 season.
Right guard Kyle Long sat out practice, too. But don’t fret about that, as it was just a rest day for the line’s most experienced starter. The Bears have been ultra cautious with Long’s practice time this year in order to keep him as healthy as possible. Long will be manning his familiar right guard post once the Bears’ offense steps onto the turf in Glendale on Sunday.