The Chicago Bears could be in a worse situation heading into the Thursday game on Thanksgiving this week. In fact, they could be in the Lions’ situation who may have to play their third-string quarterback.
The Chicago Bears have been bitten by the injury bug lately. The team lost Bobby Massie on Sunday to an ankle injury. The injury is expected to keep Massie out for a few weeks as he wears a walking boot. The team is also likely to be without both Taylor Gabriel and Ben Braunecker. Both Gabriel and Braunecker are doubtful with concussion injuries.
The Chicago Bears have depth at wide receiver, however, they are losing tight ends left and right. Thank goodness for Bradley Sowell and his on and off again presence as the team constantly moves him back and forth from the 53-man roster and the practice squad. Sowell is not the answer though.
Despite his horrible drop that would have been a touchdown last week, Ben Braunecker has brought a nice spark to the tight end position as of late. This “spark” just shows how bad the tight end position has been for the Bears this season. Over the last three games, Braunecker has four catches on eight targets for 35 yards and one touchdown. He still looks better than Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen this year.
With Trey Burton on injured reserve, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker not likely to play, and Bradley Sowell not being the answer, the Bears will have to look elsewhere for a tight end versus the Lions on Thanksgiving. The team has J.P. Holtz who they picked up off waivers from the Washington Redskins and Jesper Horsted who is an undrafted free agent rookie who was called up from the practice squad just last week.
Horsted saw limited action in Week 12, but he could be the guy this week versus the Lions. Horsted played only four snaps last week, but he did catch his only target for four yards. He is likely to start this week as the only receiving tight end. Holtz is more of an H-back (lead blocker) and has not been sent out on many routes. He has seen three targets and caught two of them. Do not expect him to light the stat sheet on fire.
Horsted will likely be flung into the fire if Ben Braunecker cannot go. That is fine as Horsted is a better receiving tight end anyway. The problem is he was just called up last week and will likely not be fully ready to take on such responsibility. This could lead the Chicago Bears to consider an alternative option. Could they use Cordarrelle Patterson as a tight end on Thursday?
This rumor floated around in the offseason and now it has come about once again. Patterson has a limited roll on offense right now. With Braunecker likely not playing on Thursday, maybe Patterson could see more action. He has a similar size at 6’2″ and 238lbs. Braunecker stands 6’3″ and 247lbs. If the Bears made this move, it would allow them to give Patterson a bigger role.
No matter what the Bears do on Thursday. If Ben Braunecker is unable to go, Matt Nagy will likely be limited in his play calling. I am excited to see Jesper Horsted get a shot, but I would be okay if the Bears split that time evenly with Patterson in the tight end role. No matter what, the Bears just need to find a way to win. It is as plain and simple as that.