Patrick took a huge hit during the second quarter of Sunday’s game on a play that had been blown dead, and was taken to the sidelines by trainers.

As the second half got underway, he was ruled doubtful to return with a back injury. He was replaced by Dan Feeney, with Cody Whitehair benched as the team’s center for the contest.

Foreman suffered an injury during the Bears’ first drive of the third quarter. After being tackled on a 13-yard run by Aidan Hutchinson, Foreman left the field with assistance from a trainer and headed to the blue medical tent.

The team said that he is officially questionable to return with an ankle injury.

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Patrick is dealing with a back issue, according to the Bears, and it is unclear whether he’ll be able to suit up for the primetime showdown.

If he is to miss the game, then Cody Whitehair could potentially return to center. The team could also slot in Doug Kramer, who has never played an NFL snap during his career.

The Bears will already be without quarterback Justin Fields for the second straight game as he deals with a thumb injury he suffered in a Week 6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Offensive lineman Nate Davis and defensive back Terell Smith are also out, as is Jaquan Brisker, who will miss the game due to an illness.

The official inactive report is due 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday night.

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And he shared some strong, motivational words to Tyson Bagent before the undrafted, Division II rookie quarterback began his first NFL start. This type of leadership will make you proud to be a Bears fan.

“You’re here for a f—— reason,” Patrick said. “Show the f—— world … I got your back all day.”

Patrick is quite the vocal leader. All game, he’s in his teammates’ ears on the field and on the sidelines. He’s one of the team’s leaders in the locker room, certainly.

He helped a terrific offensive line performance for the Bears against the Raiders. The offensive line helped Bagent & Co. to 323 total yards of offense. They ran for a whopping 173 yards, which isn’t possible without strong offensive line support.

Mic’d-up moments are the best. And these are entertaining.

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But the Bears made another move– of their own volition– that could also have a major impact on the offense. The team benched center Cody Whitehair in the second half and inserted Lucas Patrick to take his place in the middle of the offensive line.

“With Justin going out and Tyson in there, we thought it was better for our team to have the guy with more experience in there playing center,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “That’s the position that we have where Lucas has played a long time and has a lot of experience in there. We thought that would settle Bagent down a little bit.”

Of course, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Whitehair had three poor snaps in a row out of the shotgun, which played a big role in a doomed drive, prior to his benching. Eberflus denied those bad snaps played a part in the decision to switch to Patrick, however.

“It was more about settling down and putting a guy (in) who has more experience at center,” Eberflus said. “We feel good about both guys.”

For what it’s worth, Whitehair has played at center in 62 games over his career. Patrick has only appeared in 24 games at the position. Also, Bagent said he felt comfortable working with both centers and debunked any thinking that he might have banked more reps with Patrick since they’re each the backups at their respective positions.

“More times than not I’m taking scout team reps with neither of those guys,” Bagent said. “But I make sure– you know each center snaps it a little different, especially under center. In the gun it’s pretty similar. I make sure I mix it up and get under snaps throughout the week and then pregame with all those guys.”

Some may think a benching like this would signal the end of Whitehair’s tenure with the team, but Whitehair could be starting again as soon as next week. Starting right guard Nate Davis also left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, and if he’s not healthy enough to play next week the Bears will have to find his replacement. Ja’Tyre Carter has worked as the primary backup right guard this season, mainly because they needed Whitehair to play left guard and Patrick to play center when typical left guard Teven Jenkins was on IR. But with Jenkins back, the Bears might determine their best five includes Whitehair in the middle and Patrick at right guard, instead of Patrick at center and Carter at right guard. Or maybe they determine Whitehair is best suited to switch to the right side with Davis on the mend.

Whatever the case, benching Whitehair was a short-term solution that helped the offense get back on track in Week 6. But it’s too early to say Whitehair has played his last down as a Bear.

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Jackson missed three games with a foot injury while Lucas Patrick left Week 5’s game against the Commanders with a concussion.

Jackson figures to slide back into his starting free safety spot, but it’s unclear whether the Bears will have Patrick back at center. The return of Teven Jenkins at left guard last week means Cody Whitehair can move back to center, where he started the season, and Patrick can go back to his reserve role.

Notable inactives include Roschon Johnson, who is working through a concussion of his own, and Terell Smith who is dealing with an illness. Johnson had taken over as the team’s second running back this year. But with Johnson, Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer all down, the Bears will be left with D’Onta Foreman and Darrynton Evans to carry the load. Smith played outside corner when Jaylon Johnson missed time due to an injury of his own. Now Johnson is healthy and ready to play again. If either Johnson or Tyrique Stevenson get hurt, Jaylon Jones figures to be the man coming off the bench now.

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Both suffered concussions in the first half.

Khalil Herbert will take the reigns in the backfield for Johnson. As of this writing, Herbert has 76 rushing yards on nine carries.

Cody Whitehair took over duties at center for Patrick. In Whitehair’s place, recently activated Teven Jenkins slid into his native post.

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Notably, Eddie Jackson and Lucas Patrick were unable to practice today due to a foot injury and an illness, respectively.

In Week 2, Jackson suffered a non-contact injury to the same foot that was affected by a Lisfranc injury last season. It was a scary moment considering Jackson’s history with that foot, but Eberflus has said a couple of times that the team feels “positive” about the overall outlook of Jackson’s injury this time around. If Jackson misses time, however, the team will call upon second-year player Elijah Hicks to fill in at safety.

If Patrick misses time, Dan Feeney figures to take over at center. Feeney played two snaps at center against the Bucs when Patrick needed a breather.

Further, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and nickel corner Josh Blackwell were each limited at practice with a knee injury and a hamstring injury.

Mooney initially hurt his knee in Week 1, then aggravated it in Week 2. It kept him sidelined for a significant portion of the day.

“Just like a knot on top of my kneecap and it was just in the way,” Mooney said on Monday. “It was hard for me to bend my knee.”

Mooney described the injury as a “nagging bruise” but voiced confidence that he’ll be good to go when the Bears travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. If things regress, however, Tyler Scott would likely see an increased role on offense, and Equanimeous St. Brown might be on the active roster for the first time this year.

Blackwell was in line to take over at nickel corner, since Kyler Gordon underwent hand surgery last week. That hamstring injury kept him from playing, though, so the Bears signed Greg Stroman to the active roster and plugged him into the spot. Against the Bucs, Stroman gave up three catches for 25 yards, blitzed four times and made seven tackles.

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STUDS

TYRIQUE STEVENSON

It didn’t take long for Stevenson to show off the physicality and instincts that enticed the Bears enough to trade up for him in the second round of this year’s draft. On the team’s first defensive series of the season, Stevenson read an option play perfectly then delivered a huge hit on Jayden Reed for a TFL. Two series later, Stevenson made another impressive tackle near the boundary to limit Romeo Doubs to a one-yard gain. His most impressive play may have been a touchdown-down saving tackle, when he chased down Aaron Jones from behind on a 51-yard screen pass. Stevenson contributed a tackle on special teams too, which coaches are sure to love.

DARNELL MOONEY

On a day when not much went well on offense, Mooney at least made some nice plays. He was the only one to make an impact down the field and did well to get open for Justin Fields’ lone touchdown pass. Sunday was also an important day for Mooney to show he can still be effective coming off of last year’s ankle injury. He ended the day with four catches for 53 yards and the score.

CAIRO SANTOS

Santos remained the most consistent player on the team. He was a perfect 2-2 on field goals and boomed several kickoffs out of the endzone. He’s money.

DUDS

JUSTIN JONES, DOMINIQUE ROBINSON

Jones and Robinson are the only two remaining defensive linemen from last year’s ineffective group. They were no better on Sunday. Neither man contributed much in run defense or in the pass rush, and they had only one tackle between them. Extremely discouraging.

CHASE CLAYPOOL

Throughout camp it looked like Claypool was set to have a breakout season working as a big-bodied target to complement DJ Moore. In Week 1 he was nearly invisible. Justin Fields targeted Claypool twice but Claypool wasn’t able to reel in either ball.

LUKE GETSY

We’ve given Getsy lots of praise for the way he reorganized the Bears offense halfway through last season. The expectation was the entire offense would operate better in Year 2 now that everyone is more comfortable in the system and now that the overall talent on the team improved. Instead it looked like more of the same. The Bears went to the short pass game too many times, even when it was clear it wasn’t working. They didn’t attempt intermediate or deep passes with any consistency until late in the third quarter when the team was already down three scores. The unit found a little mojo towards the end of the game, but by then it was too little, too late.

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As things stand, Lucas Patrick figures to be the team’s starting center and Whitehair appears destined to slide back to left guard where he played last year, but the team isn’t ready to call off the competition just yet.

“It’s fluid right now,” GM Ryan Poles said on Wednesday. “By the time we get into next week, I’m sure we’ll have that thing solidified.”

One of the reasons the picture isn’t crystal clear yet is that a new competitor has entered the mix. On Tuesday the Bears acquired Dan Feeney from the Dolphins in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick, and Feeney has significant starting experience at both center and guard.

“The position flex is obviously something that we coveted there to be an inside piece there for us in games, and the experience,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “You’ve got tape, you’ve seen him play, you know what he can do up at this level.”

For what it’s worth, Feeney said he has no preference between playing guard and center.

“I think I can play all three at a high level, so being able to swing all three inside I think’s good. It helps to be versatile for this team. That’s what I’m gonna try and do.”

It might be tough for Feeney to push for a starting job with Week 1 less than two weeks away, but if Patrick struggles at center like he struggled at guard last year, it’s possible Feeney cracks the lineup sooner rather than later.

The Chargers selected Feeney in the third round of the 2017 season and he earned a starting job by Week 8 in his rookie season. That started a streak of 57 consecutive starts with the Chargers. He spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Jets where he played in all 33 games, but only started seven.

“Bounced around from a couple of teams,” Feeney said. “Just how the NFL works unfortunately, but I think I’m the same player. Still got the same capabilities and abilities to do things.”

Offensive line is one unit where consistency is key. All five players need to work in unison to ensure proper blocking in the run game and satisfactory protection for Justin Fields. With the recent shakeups, the Bears will need to fast track that chemistry up front. However, instead of worrying about rushing to get things right for Week 1, the Bears are opting to look at the bright side of the situation.

“What’s great is that if something happens during a game, you can slide in and move out and vice versa,” Eberflus said. “That’s what the injury situation in training camp afforded us to do, and we feel very comfortable about that. Now you don’t like it during the time—you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, we don’t have the starters in there, what’s going on, this and that.’ But the whole time you’re getting experience. Now during the course of the year when you have to do that you’re going to feel pretty comfortable doing that.”

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On Tuesday, head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that left guard Teven Jenkins suffered an injury and is deemed “week-to-week.” That designation is significant considering that the Bears have deemed players like Jaquan Brisker, Chase Claypool, and DeMarcus Walker, who have missed multiple weeks of practice, “day-to-day.”

But Jenkins’ injury is just the tip of the offensive line iceberg for a Bears team hoping to hit the ground running when the season begins.

Veteran offensive lineman Cody Whitehair left last Thursday’s practice against the Indianapolis Colts with a right-hand injury. Whitehair practiced with a wrap on his right hand Wednesday and has been moved over to left guard to fill Jenkins’ spot.

“We know what he can do at guard. That’s his position. He was playing there today,” Eberflus said after Tuesday’s practice. “We like where he is. His hand is not a big issue, but we’ll see where it goes. He’s a day-to-day guy in terms of that. We hope it heals fast and all those types of things, and we’ll see where it goes. We certainly like him at center, and we like him at guard. It’s good to have the combination and the flexibility to do both.”

With Whitehair now back at left guard, the Bears hope to have Lucas Patrick slot in as the first-team center. However, Patrick missed two weeks of practice and just returned Monday. He was limited in practice Tuesday. Eberflus said Patrick is “ramping up” to a full return.

Speaking of “ramping up,” right guard Nate Davis, who missed the first two weeks of padded practice, continues to work his way back at practice.

The Bears’ offensive line appeared to take another blow during Tuesday’s practice when rookie right tackle Darnell Wright sustained an apparent ankle/foot injury late in team drills. He limped to the sideline and did not return.

“I have not got clarity on that yet, I don’t know exactly what that is,” Eberflus said Tuesday about Wright’s injury. “We’ll see, we’ll see what it is after here.”

That leaves left tackle Braxton Jones as the only fully-healthy member of the Bears’ planned starting five.

Given how things have shaken out during training camp, Larry Borom would be first up at right tackle if Wright is unavailable, while Alex Leatherwood would likely get the first look at left guard if Whitehair’s hand becomes an issue. Doug Kramer is the Bears’ backup center behind Patrick, and Ja’Tyre Carter has received a lot of first-team reps at right guard when Davis was out.

The Bears feel comfortable with that pecking order at those positions currently. They will have first waiver priority after final cuts are made around the NFL next week and could make an addition then if needed.

The murky and worrisome state of the offensive line could put an offense still trying to find its rhythm behind the eightball.

Following joint practices last week, Eberflus admitted the offense has “A to Z” issues with execution, attention to detail, and playing with speed.

The Bears were happy with the large amount of work the offense got in during joint practices and elected not to play the starters during Saturday’s preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

That’s an acceptable decision, but an offense that has been choppy during camp needs live game reps to figure things out. Those reps will likely come in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills. Last preseason, quarterback Justin Fields and the offense played the first half in the finale against the Cleveland Browns. It’s fair to anticipate a similar workload Saturday.

However, Eberflus admitted that the state of the offensive line could play a role in whether or not Fields plays vs. the Bills.

“That will be looked at. There’s no question that will be looked at,” Eberflus said. “You’ve always gotta look at the combinations and the health of the offensive linemen when you’re talking about the quarterback. That will all be looked at, and we’ll see where it is.”

CHICAGO BEARS

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The Bears feel confident that Patrick and Davis will be ready to go in 19 days. It’s unlikely Jenkins will be back by then. If Wright’s ankle/foot issue is severe, the Bears might have to go to Borom, a guy they benched last season in Week 1.

General manager Ryan Poles tried to revamp the offensive line this offseason to give Fields the protection needed to take a leap as a passer. On paper, the “best five” of Jones, Jenkins, Whitehair, Davis, and Wright was much better than the leaky unit the Bears trotted out last season.

But that “best five” took seven padded snaps together in training camp, and now only Jones is fully healthy.

The Bears believe in Fields but need to get a full evaluation of him this season to confidently project their path forward at quarterback. It’s unreasonable to expect him to make the jump his talent suggests with a decimated offensive line.

An offensive line the Bears thought could be a strength this season has been wiped out during training camp. There’s still time for them to get mostly whole, but it’s a dire situation on Aug. 22. That’s the last place Eberflus, Fields, and the Bears wanted to find themselves.

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On Monday, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago that left guard Teven Jenkins suffered a leg injury that could force him to miss time early in the season. The Chicago Tribue was the first to report Jenkins’ injury.

With Jenkins out, the Bears had to reshuffle their first-team offensive line during Monday’s walk-through at Halas Hall. Veteran interior offensive lineman Lucas Patrick returned to practice Monday after a two-week absence. With Patrick back, the Bears bumped starting center Cody Whitehair over to left guard and had Patrick man center.

Running back Khalil Herbert said the shift in the Bears’ offensive line won’t significantly impact him or the rushing attack.

“It doesn’t do anything different for me,” Herbert said Monday about the new-look line. “I’m very comfortable with any of those guys in the room lining up in front of me. Half the time during practice, I won’t notice until midway through practice. All those guys, they do a great job of rotating. We’ve done it all camp. So I’m very comfortable with anybody in front of me. I feel like they can get the job done.”

Herbert is close with Jenkins. The two came into the league together, and the running back knows how frustrating it is for the third-year offensive lineman to deal with another injury.

That being said, Herbert said Jenkins is in good spirits.

“He’s good,” Herbert said. “Just keep his head up and do what you gotta do to get back.”

BEARS ANALYSIS

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The Bears struggled to find an effective offensive line combination last season. You could argue that their “best five” never took the field together, with Riley Reiff not taking over at right tackle until the week after Patrick, their best option at center, suffered a season-ending injury.

The Bears rebuilt their offensive line in the offseason and entered OTAs with a clean “best five.” That five of Braxton Jones, Jenkins, Whitehair, Nate Davis, and Darnell Wright took a grand total of seven snaps together during padded team drills in training camp, with Davis missing a large portion of camp with an injury.

Jenkins’ injury comes just as Davis is ramping up to full participation. With Jenkins potentially missing the first few weeks of the regular season, the Bears now must scramble to find a new “best five.”

If Patrick and Whitehair are both healthy, the optimal unit is the one the Bears trotted out Monday at Halas Hall. But Patrick has missed time in camp, and Whitehair left last Thursday’s practice with a hand injury.

Jenkins’ injury shines a bright light on the Bears’ lack of quality offensive line depth. Patrick is the Bears’ best option as a backup guard or center. Now that he’s moved into the first-team fold, the Bears are one injury to Patrick, Whitehair, or Davis away from Alex Leatherwood or Ja’Tyre Carter entering the fray to protect Justin Fields.

That’s not a situation they planned to be in on Aug. 21.

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In the months leading up to training camp, the stage has already been set for some players to succeed. Others have been dealt a tougher hand. Nothing is set in stone since Week 1 is still two months away, yet these are the early winners and losers of the Bears offseason.

WINNERS

BRAXTON JONES

The biggest surprise of the 2022 season was Jones, a fifth-round rookie, emerging as the team’s starting left tackle partway through OTAs, then holding onto the job for the entire year. Jones showed improvement throughout the year and overall put together an impressive campaign, but there were some clear areas where he struggled. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Ryan Poles added another tackle to the mix to compete with Jones, with the possibility of Jones moving to right tackle. Instead the Bears drafted Darnell Wright to take over the right side. As things stand, Jones shouldn’t have to look over his shoulder to see if anyone’s coming for his job.

DARNELL MOONEY

Mooney found near instant success with the Bears after the team used a fifth-round pick to draft him in 2020. Playing behind Allen Robinson, Mooney racked up 142 catches for 1,686 yards and eight touchdowns over his first two seasons. That was good enough for the Bears to make Mooney their No. 1 WR last year, but the move didn’t work out. Mooney’s production tanked, and he only caught 40 balls for 493 yards and two scores in 12 games. This season Mooney gets to work behind DJ Moore, so Mooney once again won’t be the primary focus for opposing secondaries. That should help him get more open, more often.

JUSTIN FIELDS

No one benefited more from this offseason than Fields. He got improved protection up front with Darnell Wright and Nate Davis joining the offensive line. He got a legit No. 1 WR in DJ Moore and another pass-catching tight end in Robert Tonyan. The three-headed rushing attack comprised of Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson should lighten his rushing load. This is also the first time in Fields’ young career where he gets to operate the same offense for the second year in a row. Combine all of that, and Fields should be set up to succeed this year.

LOSERS

LUCAS PATRICK

The Bears signed Patrick to a two-year deal last season to anchor the offensive line at center. They never got a real chance to see what he could do at the position. Patrick broke his thumb early in the summer program last year, and had to play right guard until he was healthy enough to snap the ball again. That time finally came in Week 7, but it didn’t last long. Patrick only lasted 10 snaps in his return to center before he suffered a toe injury, and had to exit the lineup again. Patrick never returned to the field in 2022, and the Bears opted to try Cody Whitehair at center to start this season. Patrick took some snaps at center with the starting unit during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, but it appears he’s got an uphill climb to regain a starting spot.

JACK SANBORN

No player ascended on the roster more than Sanborn in 2022. He joined the team as an undrafted free agent, impressed in the preseason, then cracked the starting lineup in Week 9. But his spot in the starting lineup may be in jeopardy this year, due to a couple of factors. First, the Bears drafted linebacker Noah Sewell to compete for reps. Then, Sanborn wasn’t able to participate in any open practices during the early portion of this year’s summer program as he continued to recover from an ankle injury suffered in Week 15 last year. Sanborn’s absence allowed Sewell to take reps with the 1s over minicamp, which in turn gave Sewell more opportunities to impress Bears coaches.

JAYLON JOHNSON

The Bears have several players due to earn new contracts, but no negotiations will be watched more closely than those between the team and Jaylon Johnson’s camp. The Bears love Johnson’s competitive nature, and Johnson has already proven himself capable of shutting down the league’s top pass catchers. He has yet to prove that he can take the ball away at a rate that Bears coaches expect. If he doesn’t have an uptick in the takeaway department, the Bears likely won’t want to pay Johnson top dollar. And in case the Bears and Johnson can’t find common ground, they’ve already started working towards some contingency plans. The team drafted Tyrique Stevenson, who’s expected to start Week 1 opposite Johnson at outside corner, and Terell Smith, whose ball-hawking skills they’ve praised effusively over the past few months. If Stevenson and Smith live up to the Bears’ expectations, they could make Johnson more expendable in the team’s eyes.

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The Bears never got a real chance to see how the Patrick signing would play out, though. In the early stages of training camp, Patrick broke his thumb. He needed a cast, so he couldn’t snap. The Bears tried to salvage the situation by having him play guard with a club.

“That’s hard in this league,” said offensive line coach Chris Morgan. “It’s hard enough to play, period.”

The club-handed guard experiment did not work for Patrick and he struggled. Finally, the cast came off in Week 7 and Patrick was ready to snap the ball again. Patrick’s tenure at center only lasted 10 snaps, however. He suffered a toe injury in his return to his natural position and ultimately missed the rest of the season.

It was about as disastrous of a season as one can imagine, but Morgan was impressed by Patrick’s professionalism throughout.

“He showed us through it all who he is. We know who he is: tough, smart, again another great teammate willing to do whatever.”

Despite the professionalism, the dismal year forced the Bears to come up with a new plan. The team shook things up and decided to move Cody Whitehair to center, moved Teven Jenkins into the vacated left guard spot, and slid new free agent signee Nate Davis in at right guard. Patrick has mixed in for some reps with the first team at center at right guard when Davis still hadn’t reported to camp, but for now he’s left without a seat at the table.

“Cody’s there as the starter right now and Lucas is working in there because of experience,” said Matt Eberflus after the first day of veteran minicamp.

That experience is important though, because there’s a good chance Patrick’s number will be called at some point during the year. If there’s one thing every NFL team can count on every year, it’s that the injury bug will bite. That’s especially true on the offensive line.

“We’re going to need everybody,” Eberflus said. “At some point somebody is going to step in there and be a starter and we’re fortunate to have Lucas who has started in that position.”

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