NEWSLETTER
A pair of key defensive players did not participate in Thursday’s practice, clouding their availability for Sunday’s Bears-Bengals game.
Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks sat for a second consecutive practice. On Wednesday, Hicks had “DNP” next to his name on the injury report because of an illness. A day later, Hicks didn’t practice and had “knee” added “illness” on the report. That is a bit unsettling, and I hope Head Coach Matt Nagy clarifies whenever he speaks with the media next.
Same can be said regarding the status of safety Tashaun Gipson Sr., who was downgraded from limited to not practicing on Thursday. Gipson, who came up with the fumble recovery that was forced by Eddie Jackson in Week 2, has played on each of the 107 defensive snaps the Bears have been on the field for through two weeks. With that in mind, it should go without saying that Gipson is a key cog in Chicago’s secondary. If he can’t give it a go, it will be up to the likes of Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson to fill in with reps.
For what it’s worth, it wasn’t all bad news on the injury front. Take for example linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, whose hamstring kept him out of practice on Wednesday, but was healthy enough to be upgraded to participating with limitations a day later. And we can also highlight nose tackle Eddie Goldman practicing for consecutive days, albeit with limitations.
The Bears will share one more injury report on Friday. Then will likely offer an update before the team takes its talents to Cleveland on Saturday. In other words, we might not get clarity on these injury situations until Saturday afternoon. So stay tuned.
Here’s the injury report in its entirety:
#Bears Thursday injury report: pic.twitter.com/cXOPJEVGkH
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) September 23, 2021
