Chris Harris Suffers Setback, Expected to Miss a Couple Games

Don’t count on Chris Harris to be back patrolling the defensive backfield on Sunday and keeping Steve Smith and the rest of the Panthers receivers in check.  ESPN Chicago is citing sources close to the Bears that Harris suffered a setback with his injured hamstring and it’s likely to keep him out another couple of games.

"Harris participated fully in Wednesday’s workout, before suffering the setback that caused the club to hold him out of Thursday’s practice session and he is unlikely to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.Harris underwent treatment in downtown Chicago on Friday, but there’s a chance the latest setback could be significant enough to keep him out for another game or two, according to the source. If Harris can’t play on Sunday, it’s expected that new acquisition Brandon Meriweather would start at free safety, with Wright manning the strong safety spot."

Look on the bright side, at least Craig Steltz is heading back to the bench and special teams duty.  The Bears will definitely miss Harris’ leadership and playmaking ability.  The defense has struggled over the last couple of weeks in his absence, giving up 57 points in the last two weeks, admittedly against two of the top offenses in the league.  It will be interesting to see how they do against Newton and the upstart Panthers.  Something tells me that Greg Olsen might be looking for a few holes in that Cover-2 defense, especially with a couple of relatively inexperienced safeties in coverage.