The Chicago Bears did not escape their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles without a plethora of injuries. Beyond that, they entered the week with a few questions, so the team has plenty of updates to make in this area. Matt Eberflus addressed the media on Monday, what news did he have to offer.
6. Teven Jenkins had a neck injury on Sunday
The Chicago Bears saw their starting right guard Teven Jenkins carted off of the field with a neck injury on Sunday. That news sounds very scary on the surface, but the team is fortunate to hear good news from Matt Eberflus.
While Eberflus said that the team received good news, and that things were in ecouraging, it sounded as though that was the real world diagnoses more than the football diagnoses. From the football side, Eberflus said that they were still working things out. It did not sound like he would practice on Wednesday and that they may take things from there.
This is notable because the team has been adamant about players practicing the week before playing. Perhaps Jenkins could be back and ready to roll by Thursday. If he practices a few days in a row, he could still play Sunday.
Sitll, the most likely outcome is that he is back for the final two games, or even misses those games. The team is in no rush to bring him back, and if any offensive line spot is locked in for next season, it is Jenkins. If Jenkins does remain out, the team will likely continue to go with Michael Schofield.
5. Will Larry Borom return to the Chicago Bears?
In Week 12, Riley Reiff exited the Jets game with an injury. Then, the Chicago Bears lost their backup right tackle Larry Borom with a knee injury. Borom missed the Packers game and the Eagles game, but Matt Eberflus said that he expected him to be back to at practice this week.
Borom was limited late into last week, but that was no enough practice time after missing over two weeks. Still, that should lead to Borom going in full Wednesday, and if he handles that well he will be on pace to be active.
This is important to note for a big reason. Alex Leatherwood has been splitting snaps with Riley Reiff, but when Borom was healthy, Leatherwood was inactive. When asked if Leatherwood would continue to get worked in, Eberflus said that it would depend on other players getting back into the mix.
This would obviously be Larry Borom. The Chicago Bears appear to still view Borom as better than Leatherwood. If both are healthy, Leatherwood may be inactvie again. The question would be whether they keep a rotation, or just start Borom, who is younger than Reiff and under contract next season.
4. Was the Jack Sanborn injury serious?
This one is honestly not much of an update. The Chicago Bears lost Jack Sanborn to an ankle injury about halfway through the loss to the Eagles. He was immediately deemed out for the rest of the game, which is never a great sign.
However, on Monday there was not much of an update. Matt Eberflus essentially provided us with a we will see. This appears to be another one similar to Teven Jenkins. If they thought that it was season ending they may have a more firm understanding. Because it is more of a week-to-wek or day-to-day variety, they have to wait to see how some treatment works and the swelling looks.
With that mind, you can at least speculate that it seems more unlikely that Sanborn plays on Sunday. Still, it also seems like we could see him again this season, barring worse news coming tomorrow.
With only three games left, it will be a tight one, but considering he is a rookie UDFA, he will want to play every single snap. We could expect to see Sanborn for one, and maybe two more games. In the meantime, it appeas as though Joe Thomas will be the next man up. First it was Joe Thomas, but he also left the game with an injury. With so many other names, the status of Thomas was not discussed.
3. Chicago Bears will get Khalil Herbert back
The Chicago Bears had to put Khalil Herbert on the IR. This means he has missed the past four games, and the last five weeks overall. It is a four game minimum, so now that the minimum is over, and Herbert is eligible to return, the team will do so. The team has 21 days from now to activate him, which is the rest of the season. While they could do it ASAP, they will likley wait.
Herbert will practice this week, but the team willl likely keep him on the IR until Satuday at 4PM, just in case something changes. Still, if Herbert can get through this week with his practice window open, then they will activate him and play him.
There is a question of who will be the player released because of him. They could cut Trestan Ebner, who would be the last man on the depth chart. Still, they also dramatically dropped the snaps of Angelo Blackson, and it may be his time. If Jack Sanborn or another position goes to the IR, they may not add depth, and keep the extra running back. We will, but do not be surprised if Herbert is not on the injury report, and not activated until Saturday.
2. Cody Whtehair may have played last snap with the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears heard some bad news after the game when reports came out that Cody Whitehair had a significant knee injury. His status is not determined for sure yet, but it does not sound like we will be seeing him again this season.
Beyond that, it may be the end of Cody Whitehair with the Chicago Bears. His cap hit, his production, and his injury history are all leaning to him being on a new team. If his injury is severe, he may not be looking to sign with a new team until closer to now.
The question from here would be who is going to start in place of Whitehair. As noted, it is starting to sound like Teven Jenkins may not play, and Michael Schofield would be expected to play there. Ja’Tyre Carter is the next man up at guard, but he has never been active in his NFL career.
The team may have to ask one of Larry Borom or Alex Leatherwood to slide into right guard, then move Michael Schofield from right guard to left guard. Either way, the Chicago Bears are going to be shuffling right tackle, right guard, and left guard this week. That is not going to be good.
1. Chicago Bears wide receivers
The Chicago Bears wide recievers started to get rail thin on Sunday. Chase Claypool was out with a knee injury. Darnell Mooney has been on IR. N’Keal Harry was out with a back injury, and then Equanimeous St. Brown left the game very early with a concsussion.
The team was down to Nsimba Webster, Velus Jones, Byron Pringle, and Dante Pettis. It was not pretty. However, when asked about how the Chicago Bears will see developement when players are dropping all over the place, Eberflus did talk optimistically about wide receiver.
He noted that Claypool and Harry were closer to going this week than they were to be out for the season. Eberflus sounded like both of them have a legitimate chance to play Sunday. St. Brown will have to clear protocol. so we will not know his status for a bit longer.
If Harry and Claypool can comeback, and they have Pettis and Pringle, there are at least enough guys to make it formidable. As long as Webster and Velus Jones are not a big part of the mix, then team will be in much better shape than last week.