NEWSLETTER
The Bears’ victory against the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football might ultimately be a costly one, as the injury bug showed up at Soldier Field.
Javon Wims, Roy Robertson-Harris, and David Montgomery each had injury-related absences, but the pectoral injury Roquan Smith suffered in the first quarter might sting the most. And frankly, the initial evaluation doesn’t sound good for the second-year linebacker:
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1202817920822370304
Sources have informed NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport that Smith might have torn his pectoral muscle on Thursday. It’s an injury that would probably put Smith out for the rest of the season. If that is how it plays out, then that is a real bummer for Smith – who was playing his best ball in recent weeks – and the Bears defense as a whole. The team was already without Danny Trevathan, its other starting inside linebacker whose presence would be missed more had reserve Nick Kwiatkoski not come in and balled out in his absence.
In Smith’s place, reserve Kevin Pierre-Louis stepped in and performed admirably. Pierre-Louis made six tackles (five solo), collected one tackle-for-loss, a quarterback hit, and two passes defended. Because he was making plays all over the field in his 46 snaps, Pierre-Louis figures to be the guy to step in while Smith is out. Behind him, second-year linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe could step in from time-to-time if the situation calls for it. Otherwise, the Bears must get creative to fill the void here. More on that as more details present themselves regarding the injuries for Smith (and others).
