New year, same crippling fear that falls over my soul whenever I get the push notification that the Chicago Bears injury report is out.
But in a surprising twist, the first injury report of the year isn’t as awful as I otherwise would’ve been expecting:
The most notable thing on the injury report might be who isn’t on it.
Lucas Patrick didn’t play at all in the preseason after undergoing surgery to repair an injury to his snapping hand that came up during training camp. Does this mean the veteran offensive lineman is a full go to play on Sunday against the 49ers in the season opener? Is him not showing up on the injury report a sign that he is available to play center? I don’t think we’ll get those answers in full for a few days. But that Patrick isn’t on the injury report is an encouraging sign.
Same for receiver Byron Pringle, who missed most of the summer with a quad injury. Head Coach Matt Eberflus was optimistic that Pringle would be available for Week 1. And it certainly looks like that will be the case.
Safety Jaquan Brisker also wasn’t on the injury report. Brisker had thumb surgery after the Bears’ first preseason game, and the hope was always that he’d be squared away to play in Week 1. But I’ve had my hopes dashed before, so I didn’t want to get too excited over something that could ultimately be a gut-punch if things went sideways. Instead, Brisker isn’t on the injury report. That’s welcome news, to be sure.
As for who was on the injury report…
Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. did not practice because of a hamstring injury. On the one hand, that’s a bummer to see the Bears’ highest-profile addition to the receivers room unavailable because of an injury. For what it’s worth, three weeks have passed since Jones went down in the Bears’ Preseason Week 2 game with an injury. That means three weeks of rest and recuperation. Think of it as time served. And let’s keep in mind that Jones *WAS* practicing earlier in the week. So I suppose it is possible today could possibly be a rest day. Call it a gut feeling (or a feeling based on prior experiences), but I think we’ll have a better idea of Jones’ availability by Friday.
Joining Jones on the injury report is fellow rookie Dominique Robinson, who was a limited participant with a knee injury. Robinson also went down with an injury during Chicago’s Preseason Week 2 win in Seattle. But unlike Jones, Robinson is practicing in some capacity. That’s nice.
To be fair, seeing the injury report tweet pop up on my phone over the last few years has conditioned me to fear the worst. But this wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. If more injury reports look as empty as the one above, my Wednesdays will be a lot better. Let’s hope tomorrow brings another bit of positive news.
NEWSLETTER
