Bears' Week 7 inactives hit roster hard with three starters out vs. Saints

The Bears will be without three starters when they host the Saints at Soldier Field on Sunday.

The team announced that defensive tackle Grady Jarrett will not play due to a knee injury that has kept him out since Week 3. In addition, the Bears ruled out kicker Cairo Santos (right thigh) and SAM linebacker Noah Sewell (concussion) when they released their final injury report of the week on Friday.

Bears having to play without three starters vs. Saints

The Bears have given Andrew Billings more snaps next to Gervon Dexter Sr. in place of Jarrett, and that trend figures to continue on Sunday. Billings, who started at nose tackle last year, has four tackles and a TFL over the past two games, with Jarrett sidelined.

Meanwhile, the Bears will turn to Monday night's hero, Jake Moody, once again. The team elevated Moody to the active roster before last week's game, and he made the most of his opportunity by connecting on 4-5 field goals, including the game-winner as time expired. Moody started the year with the 49ers, but San Francisco cut him after Week 1 when he missed 2-3 field goal attempts.

Sewell was ruled out partway through last week's game in Washington due to his concussion. Sewell appeared to suffer the injury when he was hit in the head by teammate Jerome Ford as the two were converging on Jacory Croskey-Merritt for a tackle. D'Marco Jackson replaced Sewell in the Bears' base defense and finished the game with two tackles.

Rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, rookie offensive lineman Luke Newman, backup quarterback Case Keenum, and rookie wide receiver Jahdae Walker are all healthy scratches for Sunday's Saints game.

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This will be the second scratch in a row for Hyppolite, after he played 55% of the team's special teams snaps over the first four games of the year. Same goes for Newman, who played 18% of the team's ST snaps through Week 4. Walker has appeared in three games for the Bears this year, while Keenum has yet to see the field.