The biggest Bears injury news of the day is that Justin Fields remains doubtful to play this week due to his dislocated thumb. Head coach Matt Eberflus says the swelling has gone down on Fields’ thumb which leaves the door open just a crack for Fields to tape the thumb up and start against the Raiders. But Eberflus still hasn’t shut the door on Fields needing surgery– and extended time off– to recover, too.
Beyond QB1, the Bears had plenty of other updates in their first injury report of the week.
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Two new starters popped up on the injury report on Wednesday. Pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue was limited with a back injury and right tackle Darnell Wright was limited with a shoulder injury. The Bears signed Ngakoue over the summer to boost the pass rush at defensive end. Ngakoue has two sacks and four TFLs this season. Meanwhile, Wright has been the only fixture on the Bears offensive line this season. Up to this point, he’s been the only man to start every game at the same position on the OL. There have been moments when Wright struggled against premiere pass rushers or when he missed assignments, as would be expected for any rookie tackle. But for the most part Wright has been solid in both run blocking and pass protection.
The Bears are still without their top two running backs, Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson. Herbert (ankle) and Johnson (concussion) did not play against the Vikings, so D’Onta Foreman and Darrynton Evans carried the load out of the backfield with a couple of Velus Jones carries sprinkled into the mix. Johnson still has not cleared the concussion protocol and Herbert is on injured reserve. The Bears did get running back Travis Homer back at practice, which will primarily give the team a boost on special teams.
Other players on the injury report include Eddie Jackson who was limited with the foot injury that has bothered him throughout the year. Jackson initially hurt his foot– the same foot affected by a Lisfranc injury last season– in Week 2 against the Buccaneers. He returned to action against the Vikings, but the injury flared up and Jackson had to leave the game early. The Bears said the injury wouldn’t have prevented Jackson from re-entering the game if needed. Terell Smith did not participate since he has mononucleosis. The team expects he’ll miss several weeks with the illness. Finally, reserve interior lineman Dan Feeney was limited with a knee injury. Feeney has played two snaps on offense this year.