Chicago Bears fans are still licking their wounds after yet another loss to the Green Bay Packers.
As for the players, well, they’re on the rebound, too.
And, unfortunately, the injury report has grown since we last saw the Bears in action.
Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. begins yet another week on the injury report. The rookie remains as a non-participant in practice due to a bothersome hamstring injury. It wasn’t that long ago that Jones was practicing with limitations. But he has since returned to the DNP designation that is keeping him off the practice field. This stings on multiple fronts. Firstly, we’re not getting a chance to see Jones strut his stuff and develop a rapport with Justin Fields. Secondly, Fields isn’t getting an opportunity to throw to the one receiver the new Bears front office invested in during the offseason. Thirdly, Jones’ injury is keeping him from contributing as a return specialist. It’s a triple whammy of bad news on the Jones front.
And because three bummers wasn’t enough, linebacker Roquan Smith appears on the injury report with a hip injury. Smith didn’t practice on Wednesday. With Head Coach Matt Eberflus already meeting the media earlier in the day, the Bears likely won’t address this update until Thursday (at the earliest). Smith came through with a team-leading 11 tackles in Sunday’s loss to the Packers. He also played on 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Part of me wants to hold out hope that today is being used as a maintenance day. So I’ll hold out a small bit of hope for the time being.
As for the rest of the injury report, here it is:
Tight end Ryan Griffin (Achilles) and defensive back Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) were also not practicing on Wednesday. The severity of those injuries is unknown. But the early DNPs aren’t a good sign. If anyone needs me, I’ll be looking into Bears backup plans at the receiver, linebacker, tight end, and defensive back positions. This upcoming game against the Texans could be an all-hands-on-deck affair.