The Bears and Lions are set to square off in 22 days. So while that might seem like a significant amount of time, the season opener is close enough to no longer be sneaking up on anyone.
With that in mind, it’s time to start keeping close tabs on what’s happening on the injury front. And when it comes to the Bears, there are two prominent players with injuries of note:
#Bears coach Matt Nagy said that Akiem Hicks was held out of practice today because of a quad injury.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 21, 2020
Bears LB Josh Woods has a groin injury.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) August 21, 2020
Starting defensive tackle Akiem Hicks sat out Friday’s practice with a quad injury, said Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy during his conversation with the media at Halas Hall. Nagy referred to it as “a little bit of a quad” issue. And since Nagy also referenced Friday was a “vet day” it could possibly be a rest day for a veteran leader of the Bears’ defense.
Reserve linebacker Josh Woods also sat out practice with a groin injury. Woods sits behind Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith as a top backup option among inside linebackers. He also represents a potential option as a core special teams contributor who could fill the spots vacated by Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis. Considering this would be an increased role compared to where he was on the depth chart this time last year, we’ll monitor Woods’ groin issue closely.
One more injury of note:
#Bears UDFA tight end Darion Clark has a shoulder injury and is on injured reserve. He's out for the season.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) August 21, 2020
The Bears placed tight end Darion Clark on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury. Clark was a long-shot to make the season-opening roster, but I always find myself looking forward to seeing if a former college basketball player can make the jump to tight end. With his placement on IR, we’ll have to wait and see if he can make the leap next year. As it stands, the Bears’ camp roster has 79 players.