NEWSLETTER
Ugh. Khalil Mack will miss his first game in three years. This isn’t unexpected news. However, it is unwelcome for Chicago’s football team.
The week began with reports suggesting the Bears would shut Mack down to give him some time to rest, heal, and recover from a foot injury. Mack has spent time on the injury report with the ailment, which has limited his practice participation in recent weeks. It hadn’t kept Mack out of the lineup to this week. But the injury is bugging him to the point where it’ll keep him out of Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Mack, 30, has 6 sacks, 6 tackles-for-loss, and 7 QB Hits in seven games. He was well on his way to another Pro Bowl selection, and possibly some All-Pro recognition. And while he still might get there, an injury taking him out of action will sideline Mack for the time being.
Here’s the rest of the injury report:
#Bears Friday injury report: pic.twitter.com/1DkmbcnY8u
— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) October 29, 2021
That Mack is the only Bears player already ruled out can be taken as a positive, but only if you view it through the lens of him being the only player whose status has deemed him as unavailable this week. Even still … THIS STINKS. Mack has missed just two game in since joining the Bears in 2018. He has been a picture of excellence, domination, and consistency during his time. Some coaches talk about how the best ability for a player to have is availability. And when Mack has been available, he has been a force. His presence will be missed.
As for the rest of the report, it’s encouraging to see Akiem Hicks among those who were a full participant in Friday’s practice. Hicks has been trending in the right direction this week, which puts him in a position to return to the lineup. Nothing like getting the soul of the “D” back into the swing of things, just as your unit is losing its most prolific performer. Joining Hicks in full participation were Jakeem Grant Sr., Allen Robinson II, James Daniels, Bilal Nichols, Sam Kamara, and J.P. Holtz. I don’t love seeing Jesper Horsted (knee) pop up late in the week on the injury report. But a full participation suggests he will play on Sunday.
