The first injury reports of Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season are rolling out today. You can catch the latest with the Los Angeles Rams here. As for the Chicago Bears, who will host the Rams on Sunday at Soldier Field, the Wednesday injury report is something of a mixed bag.
Let’s focus on the starters who pop up on the first Bears injury report of the week:
Wide receiver Keenan Allen practiced for the first time in two weeks, albeit in a limited capacity. Allen has missed the last two games because of a heel injury, but perhaps there is a chance he can make his return to the lineup this week against the Rams. Stringing a few practices together could go a long way toward making that happen — and practicing with limitations feels like a good place to start.
Right tackle Darnell Wright has a back injury that kept him out of practice altogether on Wednesday. How Wright responds to treatment throughout the week will ultimately tell the team if the second-year offensive lineman will be ready (or able) to give it a go. If Wright can’t play, the Bears could start Matt Pryor at right tackle (and slide Nate Davis back into the starting lineup at right guard). The team could tab rookie Kiran Amegadjie for the start, which is an idea we explored earlier.
Speaking of Nate Davis, the Week 1 starter was limited in practice again because of a groin issue. Even though the limitations kept him from starting last week, Davis did see time in last week’s game against the Colts when left tackle Braxton Jones went down with an injury, which led to Matt Pryor moving to left tackle and opening up a spot for Davis. We’ll continue watching Davis’ status with great interest because it seems like the Bears don’t want to play him if he isn’t fully healthy.
MORE INJURY NEWS: Matt Eberflus Weighs In | LA Rams Injury Report
Sheesh. Yet another Bears starting offensive offensive lineman pops up on the injury report. It is the aforementioned Braxton Jones, who was limited with a knee injury. Joens suffered the injury in Week 3 (but didn’t miss a ton of time). Perhaps practicing with limitations on Wednesday is a precautionary measure.
Defensive tackle Andrew Billings was also limited with a knee injury. I’m still miffed about Billings getting robbed of an interception because of poor officiating. Joining Billings as a starting defensive lineman on the injury report to start the week is Montez Sweat. The starting defensive end was also limited because of an elbow issue.
Khari Blasingame seeing limited practice snaps is an upgrade from what we’ve seen recently from the fullback. Blasingame has been missing in action due to hand/knee injuries. I don’t think Blasingame’s return will fix a woeful Bears ground game. However, I think it could help matters.
Chicago Bears Week 4 Injury Report
A handful of other Bears reserves did not participate in Wednesday’s practice session at Halas Hall. Among them were defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin), cornerback Terell Smith (hip), and defensive end Darrell Taylor (illness).
The Pickens groin issue dates back to the preseason, and I feel as if the Bears should play it cautiously with him. Thankfully, they have Chris Williams available to pick up the leftover snaps that Pickens is leaving behind. Smith’s hip injury popped up during the game against the Colts. Perhaps that would explain why the Bears added cornerback Ameer Speed to their practice squad this week. Taylor being sent home from practice with an illness is sub-optimal in its own right. Sick days are the worst — especially when you want to be out there and helping your teammates.
We have two more updates to come this week. This is what the first installment looks like as a whole: