The Chicago Bears had announced the return of multiple players to practice, but, of course, how this training camp has gone, something is bound to go wrong.
During the Bears' first practice before their preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans, starting right tackle Darnell Wright was first seen leaving the practice field with a right arm injury. This is the same one he injured last season that caused him to miss one game this year.
After trainers checked out Wright's arm, they took him to the locker room for further examination. There's no word on the extent of his injury.
Darnell Wright injured at Bears practice before Titans preseason game
The timing of this injury couldn't be worse. Wright is coming off the best season of his career and landing a massive contract extension in training camp for his efforts in 2025.
Last year, Wright was Pro Football Focus's 14th-ranked tackle out of 89 in the NFL with a grade of 81.4. He finished with allowing 19 pressures, three quarterback hits, and three sacks in 638 pass-blocking snaps. Wright was also selected as a second-team All-Pro member after the season.
This will be a difficult situation for the Bears, as they now need to figure out who will replace Wright. Theo Benedet was his backup during practice at right tackle.
The good news is that if the Wright injury is serious, Benedet has right tackle experience as a starter, as he did last year for the Bears. He has been working as a swing tackle, which gives him the advantage of potentially backing up at both left and right tackle.
Chicago can't afford to lose Wright since they are already trying to figure out the left tackle position. That position battle has been a mess, as Braxton Jones is expected to win the job until Ozzy Trapilo is 100% healthy. Otherwise, it will either be Jones, Benedet, Jedrick Wills Jr., or Kiran Amegadjie at left tackle for Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.
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This might be the most challenging moment for the Bears, depending on the severity of Wright's injury. If it is as bad as fans think it could be, the momentum the offensive line built last year could be drastically affected. The hope is that it's a minor injury that will get him back on the field soon enough.
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