NEWSLETTER
I was overwhelmed with optimism when I saw David Montgomery was upgraded to full participation on the injury report. Finally, some good news, I bellowed.
I had the opposite feeling seeing Robert Quinn (ankle) didn’t practice and that Khalil Mack (knee) remained limited.
But I’ll refrain from sharing my verbal reaction to that, as it contained words that might make you blush.
Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy told reporters that Quinn’s ankle injury happened in Wednesday’s practice. He added it was unrelated to his previous limitations during training camp. But because the NFL’s rules don’t make coaches say more than the minimum, that was it as far as sharing. And like most coaches, Nagy will run with that and keep as much on the hush as he can. That’s fine. I get it. Give me an inch and I’ll take a mile, too.
But there is no talking around how much it would sting the defense if Quinn is unavailable on Sunday.
Quinn was the Bears’ big-ticket free-agent acquisition this offseason. His presence was to provide an upgrade from what Leonard Floyd provided lining up opposite of Mack. This isn’t a knock against Floyd, whose athleticism and skill-set showed up in his versatility. But the ability to unleash two premier pass-rushers with 10+ sack potential is too good to pass up.
However, Quinn needs to play to put that reality into motion.
Nagy didn’t share specifics regarding Mack’s knee injury, either. The coach did say: “I hope he’s OK. I think he’s going to be OK.”
I would have been fine had Nagy limited his thoughts to “I think he’s going to be OK.” He didn’t. Further, adding “I hope he’s OK” bugs me. That Nagy is holding out hope suggests there’s a chance that Mack isn’t as OK as the coach thinks/says. Maybe that’s me reading too much into it. Then again, if coaches can play the paranoia card, why shouldn’t I?
Friday’s practices are generally light. But the injury/participation report that comes with it usually brings clarity to injury situations. So before I go off the deep end, I’ll wait it out to see what the next injury report says. But in the meantime, I have my concerns.
