Bears news roundup: Kentavius Street to IR, Kyle Monangai latest, SNF notes

Week 9 preparation has gotten underway for the Chicago Bears, and there was a lot to unpack from their previous game.

The Bears are coming off a massive 34-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night. That win put them at 6-2 and just a half-game behind the Minnesota Vikings for first place in the highly competitive NFC North division.

That game brought plenty of news, along with what's to come in their Week 9 showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are the biggest stories from the week so far.

1. Bears place Kentavius Steet on IR
2. Ben Johnson's injury updates on Kyle Monangai, Theo Benedet
3. Caleb Williams on dealing with public perception of him
4. What the Buccaneers are saying about the Bears entering Week 9
5. Virginia Halas McCaskey named Hall of Fame nominee in contributor category
6. Sunday Night Football notes Bears fans might be surprised about

Bears place Kentavius Steet on IR

The Bears provided some bad news to the defensive line regarding defensive tackle Kentavius Street. Chicago placed Street on IR after suffering a knee injury in Seattle on Monday. When Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke with the media, he said that Street will most likely miss the rest of the season.

Street is the second Bears player expected to miss the rest of the season on Wednesday. The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs reported that left tackle Braxton Jones was expected not to come off IR and also be done for the year.

This season, Street had nine tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and one sack in eight games. Pro Football Focus gave him a 48.7 overall grade and ranked him 107th among 128 interior defensive linemen in the NFL.

Ben Johnson's injury updates on Kyle Monangai, Theo Benedet

Some major injury concerns are entering Week 9. The Bears face two of the biggest names: running back Kyle Monangai and starting left tackle Theo Benedet. Monangai has missed the last four games with a thumb and toe injury, while Benedet suffered a shoulder injury in the win over the Seahawks.

Johnson spoke with the media and updated them on Monangai and Benedet. Johnson said there are “a few guys we’re gonna have to see over the course of the week whether they’ll be available or not.”

On the first injury report of the week, Monangai and Benedet did not practice. Monangai has not practiced in the last four weeks, and that streak continues. If Benedet cannot go, Ozzy Trapilo will enter the starting lineup for the first time since his injury in last year's playoff run.

Caleb Williams on dealing with public perception of him

One thing that has become clear since Caleb Williams has entered the NFL is how the general public feels about him. Because Williams painted his nails and was emotional about his hamstring injury this year, people feel entitled to judge him.

During his late-night press conference on Wednesday, reporters asked how the public perceives him. Williams couldn't care less and gave the perfect response.

"People are going to say what they have to say," Williams said via The Score's Chris Emma. "I can't please everybody. That's not my job. My job is to go win games. My job is to be the best player I can be. My job is to believe in myself, trust in my teammates and go out there and be one of those guys on the field that makes game-changing plays. You like it, you don't like it, you got to deal with it."

What the Buccaneers are saying about the Bears entering Week 9

Next on the schedule for the Bears is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are trying to get their season back on track. It's been three years since the Bears and Buccaneers have played each other with their last matchup coming in 2023.

This takes both teams into unfamiliar territory as they try to figure out how to beat each other. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield talked about what he expects from Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and his group.

"I mean, he does an incredible job of mixing it up, giving you a ton of different looks to where you're always having to adjust, trying to create a lot of confusion at the line of scrimmage. Different looks with guys up, eight-up, seven-up looks, moving those guys around up front to where you have to communicate and be on the same page. And they're just, you can tell it when it's a Dennis Allen coached defense. They're aggressive, they play physical, they're under the ball. And it just screams on the tape."

Tampa Bay defensive tackle Vita Vea also had a chance to share his thoughts on the Bears' high-powered offense. Vea admitted that he hates going up against Ben Johnson's unit.

"Oh shoot, we're still game planning them, still going through everything, watching the film. It's definitely one of those teams that it's just you hate to play against because they have so many different looks to go up against. So it's just one thing; we just gotta hone in on our fundamentals and everything, and let's do the work."

Virginia Halas McCaskey named Hall of Fame nominee in contributor category

The late Virginia Halas McCaskey was listed as one of the five nominees for the Hall of Famer contributor category. McCaskey was the principal owner of the Bears from 1983 until her passing in 2025.

During her tenure as the owner, the Bears won five straight NFC Central Division championships from 1984 through 1988, won the Super Bowl in 1985, and won the NFC title in 2007.

Read more: Bears' patience for an Austin Booker breakout season has quietly paid off

Sunday Night Football notes Bears fans might be surprised about

The Bears are back in action on Sunday night against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Chicago needs a win to keep pace in the tight NFC North race.

Sunday nights haven't been a great time slot for the Bears. That's because they have lost nine straight primetime games and haven't won since 2018. In fact, they have lost 12 of the last 14 games on Sunday Night Football.

What makes it worse is that the Bears are 18-32 all-time on Sunday night. Their record on the road? 10-22, with 11 straight Sunday night losses on the road. History is not in the Bears' favor.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow