The Bears are fighting for their playoff lives against a Jaguars team whose franchise has all the incentive to lose out.
But as a reminder, they play games on the field — and not on paper. And so long as games are played in an arena where you can’t turn injuries off, the bumps and bruises will be part of the game. So consider that as we turn our attention to Sunday’s action.
With that being said, here’s the first injury report of the week:
#Bears Wednesday injury report:
*The Bears held a walk-through Wednesday, participation reports are estimates pic.twitter.com/gjXag6JttI— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) December 23, 2020
Eek! Seeing six players not participating in Wednesday’s walk-through is a bit jarring. Worse, four of those players are key contributors … I almost want to sound the alarms. Fortunately, it’s still only Wednesday, which means there’s ample time for players to rest and heal before Sunday’s kickoff.
Still, I don’t like the looks of things so far.
Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (shoulder) and Buster Skrine (concussion) didn’t practice. Johnson missed last week’s game against the Vikings because of the shoulder injury suffered during the team’s win against the Texans two games ago. And because that shoulder is the same one that received surgical repair in the offseason, I expect the Bears to proceed with caution when it comes to getting him back into the lineup. Skrine has sat the last two games as he remains in concussion protocol.
Also missing in action was Cordarrelle Patterson. The Pro Bowl special teams ace figures to be limited this week, as Head Coach Matt Nagy declared Patterson was “day-to-day” because of the knee issue that popped up in Week 15. I don’t love seeing Akiem Hicks (ankle) on the injury report. The ankle injury is a new one for the stud defensive lineman. Keeping him off his feet to keep him healthy for Sunday should be a priority.
Tight end Demetrius Harris (foot) is a newcomer to the injury report after missing time in last week’s game because of a foot issue. Meanwhile, safety Deon Bush has an ongoing foot injury of his own that continues keeping him out of practice.
For what it’s worth, it wasn’t all bad news on the injury report.
Pass-rushers Khalil Mack (shoulder) and Robert Quinn (ankle) were full participants. As were Pro Bowl snub Allen Robinson II (hamstring), starting left tackle Charles Leno Jr. (toe), safety Eddie Jackson (hip), slot corner Duke Shelley (knee/foot), linebacker Danny Trevathan (ankle), and edge defender James Vaughters (achilles).
We’ll continue monitoring the situation as updates present themselves. In the meantime, I’m hoping for a more positive report tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.