Good news from the injury front doesn’t hit the wire as often as we’d like, but Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus had some to share on Monday afternoon.
During his Monday press conference, Eberflus told reporters at Halas Hall that running back Khalil Herbert will be designated for a return from injured reserve:
Do you remember what Herbert was doing before suffering the hip injury that put him on IR?
If not, here’s a refresher:
Oh, and he was the NFL’s Ground Player of the Week during the last week of September.
So … do you see why I’m looking forward to his return?
Hebert will join the Bears at practice this week. That’s good news. And he is lined up to be activated for Saturday’s game against the Bills. Even more good news. Plus, it counts as great timing for the Bears’ offense. With the receiver’s room looking short-handed, the Bears could lean further into a rush offense that has kept chugging along thanks to quarterback Justin Fields and running back David Montgomery. In three games since Herbert went on IR, Fields is averaging 6.4 yards per attempt en route to gaining 251 yards on 39 carries to go along with two touchdowns. Montgomery has been going through a resurgence of sorts in Herbert’s absence. The fourth-year back is averaging 4.6 yards per rush, gaining 260 yards on 57 carries and scoring four total touchdowns.
Monty had been averaging just 3.77 yards per carry in the nine games prior to Herbert’s IR stint. So while it’s nice to see Montgomery find some juice of late, I’m still looking forward to Herbert’s return because of what it could mean for Chicago’s offense for the final three games of the season. The three-headed monster of Fields-Montgomery-Herbert could give defensive coordinators fits. And even though the Bears are going nowhere but to the top of the tank standings, the Bills, Lions, and Vikings have something to play for over the next three weeks. It would be a shame if Chicago’s ground game made those teams sweat it out down the stretch. *evil laughs*
We’ll monitor Herbert’s status to see if his return is as imminent as the coach made it seem.