If one injury report full of positive vibes is good, then stacking two back-to-back is better:
#Bears Thursday Injury Report:
DNP: Sims (concussion)
Full: Braunecker (concussion), Gabriel (knee), Kush (neck), Mack (ankle), Nichols (knee), Robinson II (groin).— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) November 8, 2018
The biggest news to come from the Chicago Bears’ updated injury report is that injured stars Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson have put together consecutive days of full participation in practice. If they can do it three days in a row, then all signs will point to their return to action on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. And that’s huge.
If you recall, Mack (ankle) and Robinson (groin) have sat out each of the last two games while nursing injuries, but the Bears have been very lucky in that respect. They managed to win both games without *forcing* these guys into action, and now they’ll be far better off/healthier for the tough/upcoming NFC-North stretch of the season (Lions, Vikings, Lions). In other words, the Bears had their cake (getting two consecutive wins) and ate it too (not risking further injury with star, long-term guys like Mack and Robinson). I love it.
Michael: I still hope the Bears decide to lay off Mack, in particular, if he’s not 100%. Because he wasn’t his usually dominant self playing injured and the Bears have a lot of money and dollars invested in him in the long term. So if he’s still a little hurt, it might be in the Bears best short *and* long-term interests to keep him sidelined. But if he’s healthy … oh baby, bring him on.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (knee), guard Eric Kush (neck), and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (knee) also participated in full at Thursday’s practice. Gabriel, who spent time on the injury report last week leading up to the Bills game, was upgraded from being a limited participant on Wednesday. Kush played in a right guard time share with Bryan Witzmann in Week 9 and could continue to rotate as long as he remains healthy. Nichols didn’t travel with the team to Buffalo, but his playing time had been on the rise in recent weeks. If his knee is strong moving forward, he figures to keep his place in the defensive line rotation with Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris.
Tight end Dion Sims continued to sit out practice because of a concussion. This is the second straight week in which a Bears tight end is spending time in concussion protocol. Ben Braunecker did it last week, but was a full-go at practice on Thursday. We’ll wait and see how the Bears deploy their tight ends as Adam Shaheen works his way back into the mix.