It sounds like Bears wideout Darnell Mooney’s season is getting cut short due to the ankle injury that took him down on Sunday.
While meeting with reporters during his Monday press conference, Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus said Mooney was “likely” to have surgery on his injured ankle and that it would put him on IR and knock him out for the rest of the season. A bummer of an update for a player we’ve grown to enjoy watching since his arrival after the 2020 NFL Draft:
Mooney suffered an ankle injury during the third quarter of the Bears’ loss to the Jets. The third-year wideout was run-blocking for David Montgomery when the injury happened. After the play, Mooney was slow to get up, was helped as he limped off the field, and was escorted to the locker room by trainers. It was one of a handful of injuries to occur on the notorious MetLife Stadium turf โ and one that is of significance to the Bears’ offense.
Last year, Mooney put up his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign. During the offseason, he established himself as a leader with his relentless work ethic and created a budding partnership with quarterback Justin Fields. It didn’t result in big numbers early, but the Mooney-Fields connection was showing signs of life. Mooney was just getting into a groove before Sunday’s loss in New York. Losing him hurts.