Velus Jones Jr. Practiced Again, But Roquan Smith and Jaylon Johnson are Questionable For Sunday

The final Bears injury report of the week is OUT … and so are three players who will be unavailable for Sunday’s game against the Texans.

Here’s what it looks like:

Oof. The rundown here isn’t pretty. Let’s discuss:

  • The Bears could be without two of their three best defenders. Linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (quad) are “QUESTIONABLE” to suit up against the Texans. Smith didn’t practice all week (which isn’t great), but wasn’t ruled out of action either. I suppose that counts as a silver lining on an otherwise gloomy cloud. The Trib’s Brad Biggs believes “there is a good chance Roquan plays” on Sunday, which fills me with a sense of relief.
  • I wish I felt better about Johnson’s status. Chicago’s CB1 joins Smith as questionable. The Bears’ top cornerback has a quad injury that kept him out of practice on Friday after limiting him on Thursday.
  • Linebacker Matt Adams, defensive back Dane Cruikshank, and tight end Ryan Griffin didn’t practice on Friday. And all three players have been given the “OUT” designation and won’t play on Sunday. Cruikshank and Griffin haven’t practiced all week. And Adams popped up with a hamstring issue on Thursday, causing him to miss the last two practices.
  • But perhaps some good news is on the horizon. ReceiverVelus Jones Jr. came through with a second consecutive day with limited participation in practice. Jones is “DOUBTFUL” to suit up and make his regular-season NFL debut on Sunday against Houston. HOWEVA, it is encouraging to see him string together consecutive practices (albeit practices with limitations). This marks the first such occasion for Jones since debuting on the injury report. Incremental progress still counts as progress.
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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