At the beginning of the week, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter gave Chicago Bears fans hope that rookie first-round pick tight end Colston Loveland was looking good to play against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4 after his hip injury. That's no longer the case.
Schefter reported on Saturday that Loveland will not play against the Raiders. Loveland is listed as questionable for the game after only practicing on Friday. He suffered his hip injury during the Bears' 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Loveland's injury makes it the fourth starter on the Bears to be knocked out for the game. Linebacker T.J. Edwards, right tackle Darnell Wright, and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett were also ruled out of the Raiders game.
In his first three career games, Loveland has only caught three of six targets for 43 yards. His biggest play of the season came against the Cowboys with a 31-yard completion.
The Bears will be replacing Loveland with Stephen Carlson, who has been on the team's practice squad. This is the first time Carlson has been called up for a game this season.
Tough loss for Bears not having Loveland in the offense
This may not completely change how the offense looks, but it will mean more Cole Kmet in the passing game. Durham Smythe has been the third-string tight end and will be elevated into the backup role.
That part that will upset Bears fans is that this is another example of a disappointing start to Loveland's career. Chicago hasn't involved the tight ends in the offense as often as some would have liked, a fact acknowledged by Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
There was hope that Loveland might be able to explode onto the scene, and last week he seemed poised to do so. It was disappointing to see the hip injury kill all the momentum that he was building in the Cowboys game after his long completion.
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Sunday's Raiders game could be the Kmet show as Bears quarterback Caleb Williams connected with him on a touchdown pass last week. Chicago needs to get through this game, and then it will have the bye week to recover.