In other injury news, Lance Briggs returned to practice for the first time since he suffered a fractured shoulder against the Redskins:
#Bears LB Lance Briggs practiced for first time in front of media on Thursday since fracturing shoulder on Oct 20. pic.twitter.com/ZiYk8zK68a
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) December 12, 2013
I don’t know if Briggs will be able to return, but it’s certainly an encouraging sign to see him back in contact drills. I would argue that Briggs’ return would be more beneficial to the Bears and their playoff prospects than Cutler’s return. That’s not a knock of Cutler, but rather a knock on how bad the Bears’ defense has been in recent weeks. The run defense took a particularly bad turn since Briggs was sidelined.
Stay tuned for more updates on the latest Bears injury news here and on our Twitter and Facebook pages.