The Chicago Bears' injury report on Thursday gave a hopeful expectation that Braxton Jones would be able to return to the offensive line for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, however, that hope was immediately erased on Friday.
#Bears Friday Injury Report pic.twitter.com/yEe7WWnbR1
— Bears Communications (@BearsPR) November 8, 2024
Not only was Jones ruled out for Sunday's game, his progress took a step backward on Friday due to his inability to practice. Complicating matters for the Bears' offensive line is that Darnell Wright, the other starting tackle, won't be playing on Sunday either.
With Jones and Wright out, the current expectation is that Larry Borom will return to being the team's left tackle against the Patriots. On the other side, expect Matt Pryor to shift from right guard to right tackle. Matt Eberflus told reporters on Friday that Ryan Bates will be activated from IR. In his return, Bates could slot in as the team's starting right guard.
#Bears G/C Ryan Bates will be activated to the 53-man roster
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) November 8, 2024
When talking about the state of the Bears' offensive line, the fortunate piece in all of this is that they are playing the Patriots. If there were a game for the Bears to try and get through with a patchwork offensive line, it would be against the Patriots.
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The good news for the Bears is that there defense is getting healthier. While Jaquan Brisker remains sidelined with a concussion, Montez Sweat and Kyler Gordon will be returning on Sunday. The return of Sweat will certainly help improved a Bears' run defense that was shredded against the Arizona Cardinals last week. The Patriots don't have any wide receivers who should scare the Bears' secondary but Gordon's return will help against rookie quarterback Drake Maye's ability to scramble from the pocket.