Shoutout to Michael for handling yesterday’s injury report while I attended to some family business. Of all the things to hand off to someone, I don’t imagine writing about a laundry list of injured players was high on Michael’s list. Nevertheless, he performed admirably in my place.
As for the updated injury report for the week, it’s still a big pile of yikes:
#Bears Thursday Injury Report: pic.twitter.com/xtVF4bXBhq
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) December 10, 2020
Khalil Mack missed practice for the second consecutive day because of a shoulder injury. Mack had 6.5 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, and 8 tackles-for-loss in his first eight games of the season. Since then, he has been held without a sack, tackle-for-loss, and quarterback hit. That’s not what anyone wants to see. Moreover, that it’s coming at a time when injuries appear to be piling up on Chicago’s superstar rusher isn’t great either.
Mack has now been on the injury report because of shoulder, back, ankle, and knee issues this season. And while Mack hasn’t missed a game to this point, it’s notable that Mack’s appearance on 85.6 percent of defensive snaps is lower than his percentage in 2019 (86.2%). Perhaps maintenance is in play here, but I’m not liking the recent trends.
Elsewhere on the injury report, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, and Jimmy Graham were back at it on Thursday. Both were absent from Wednesday’s practice as non-injury resting veterans. Charles Leno Jr., Allen Robinson, and J.P. Holtz continued practicing with limitations for a second straight day. Darnell Mooney missed practice due to personal reasons, while Buster Skrine sat out as he remains in concussion protocol.
Altogether, the injury report isn’t all that haunting. But seeing “DNP” next to Mack’s name isn’t going to help me sleep easy tonight.