NEWSLETTER
Seeing Eddie Goldman at the top of the year’s first injury report with a “did not practice” designation was unsettling. Seeing a player who is itching to play after sitting out last season being unable to practice ahead of Week 1 just plain stinks. Waiting all that time, only to be held out of practice during game week, must feel like a gut punch.
But, thankfully, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy has an update that comes with a silver lining:
Matt Nagy says Eddie Goldman is "day to day". Knee injury, which he hurt Monday in practice…
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) September 9, 2021
Nagy told reporters Goldman “tweaked” his knee on Monday. This “tweak” is what landed Goldman as a DNP on Wednesday’s injury report. Goldman was on the injury report with knee/ankle issue. Nagy didn’t clarify if Goldman would’ve been a participant Wednesday had it not been for the knee. However, he seemed more optimistic than I would’ve otherwise come to expect. Does that count as something?
Sure, Nagy said he wasn’t sure if Goldman would practice later today. And that, in isolation, is enough to sound some alarms. But Nagy’s framing it as “day-to-day” feels better than what the alternative could’ve been. Because, if you let Nagy tell it, this doesn’t seem like an overly serious issue. Tack on Nagy’s praise for how Goldman was looking before Monday’s happenings, I almost want to believe this “tweak” is a minor setback. At minimum, I feel better now about which direction Goldman’s arrow was pointing after sitting out a year than I was feeling at the start of the summer.
And for what it’s worth, there is more optimism on the injury front:
Matt Nagy says he's not concerned about injuries that limited Khalil Mack, Darnell Mooney and Robert Quinn in practice.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) September 9, 2021
Then again, recent history isn’t all too kind to Nagy. Remember how optimistic he was about Teven Jenkins’ back injury until the rookie tackle needed to get surgery? Yeah, I’d rather forget about that, too. So that serves as a reason as to why I’m not going full-board optimism out of the gate. That, plus the Bears signing two defensive linemen to their practice squad. Nothing says “everything is fine” like bringing on contingency plans mid-week just four days ahead of kickoff.
However, I’m willing to hold out hope that Goldman plays on Sunday until new information pops up that pushes me the other way.
