NEWSLETTER
The Bears’ first injury report of Week 16 is very much a mixed bag.
Here it is in its entirety:
Let’s chip away at some of the high-profile names:
- Right guard Teven Jenkins was a limited participant in Tuesday’s estimated walk-through. Because the Bears are on a short week, these aren’t traditional practices. Nevertheless, Jenkins practicing in any capacity after suffering what looked in real-time to be a serious injury is a most wonderful development.
- Cornerback Jaylon Johnson (finger/ribs) was a full participant in the walk-through. Johnson was in a battle with Eagles receiver A.J. Brown in Week 15. And at the end of the day, Johnson was really hurting — to the point he left the game early with an abdominal injury and didn’t re-enter. Being a full-go is an encouraging bit of news for CB1.
- Another notable nugget on the injury report comes via receiver Chase Claypool getting an upgrade to practicing with limitations. Claypool suffered a knee injury against the Packers before the bye, then was a DNP in Chicago’s the three practices and didn’t play last week against the Eagles. Seeing “limited” next to Claypool’s name is a step in the right direction. Head Coach Matt Eberflus said he didn’t believe Claypool’s injury would be a season-ending one. So perhaps we’ll see him return at some point in the next three games.
- Another receiver seeing progress on the injury report was N’Keal Harry. Harry was on the injury report with a back injury last week, but wasn’t healthy enough to give it a go on Sunday for the Bears. Perhaps a few more “full” practices will put him in position to get back into the lineup. Chicago is short-handed at receiver right now and could use a healthy body.
- Right tackle Larry Borom was a full participant. Borom’s knee has been problematic recently, but the step up to full participant is a welcome sight. And timely, too. Especially with fellow offensive linemen Riley Reiff (illness) and Cody Whitehair (knee) not practicing at all. Depending on how things shake out in the next few practices, we could see Borom return to the starting lineup.
- Joining Reiff and Whitehair as non participants in Tuesday’s practice were tight end Trevon Wesco (calf), cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle), wideout Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion), and defensive tackle Justin Jones (illness).
We’ll be keeping tabs on the injury report over the next few days. Hopefully, some more good news will come from updates later in the week.
