When the Chicago Bears take on the Las Vegas Raiders, there will already be plenty to discuss on the injury front. Justin Fields is doubtful, and Matt Eberflus noted that right guard Nate Davis will be out for three or four more weeks.
Still, things get worse than that. The Bears have a few other key injury updates that are worth following this weekend.
3. Will the Chicago Bears have Darnell Wright against the Las Vegas Raiders?
Darnell Wright appears to have a shoulder injury. He was not on the injury report at all last week, but after the Minnesota Vikings loss, he popped up. On Wednesday, it was not a big deal because he was limited. With the other injuries, it was not the most pressing issue. However, on Thursday, he sat out entirely.
Going backwards in the week is almost never a good thing. Perhaps the team wants to give him a day off before letting him go full on Friday. If he is not at least limited on Friday, he will certainly be out. In most cases, when a player goes backwards, he is already trending towards out.
Wright likely gave it a go, and either feels worse today after pushing it, or it did get worse. Considering he is a rookie, the odds of him suiting up get even lower because he needs the practice work. Some veterans can come in after not working all week, but he will not.
If Wright does miss, the question then becomes whether Aviante Collins moves to left tackle and then Lary Borom plays right tackle, or if Borom stays on the left side. In the preseason Collins played the left side and Borom on the right, but of the two Borom was always going to play either side over Collins. With both out there they may shake things up again.
2. Roschon Johnson has missed extended time for the Chicago Bears
The concussion for Roschon Johnson is starting to look serious. He suffered his concussion early on Thursday night, and the thought was that it may give him enough time to get back against the Minnesota Vikings. That was not the case, as Johnson did not practice at all.
Still, the concussion rules are getting tougher, and players rarely come back from them in one week. However, now we are onto week two, and he has still not gotten out of the protocol. If Johnson got out on Friday but did not practice all week, it is hard to see them activating him.
Even if they did, it would be for special teams and a snap here and there. They have spent the whole week practicing without him, and considering he is a rookie and Tyson Bagent is a rookie; it would hurt both of them to throw Johnson into the mix without any practice time.
More than that, it is concerning how long this is taking Johnson. You have to seriously be concerned for him at this point as the typical timeline is to get back to practice after a day or two. He is now two full weeks removed and has not been able to get back on the field. Is this a serious issue for his long-term health?
1. The Chicago Bears may sit Eddie Jackson this week
This season is not going the way that Eddie Jackson desired. He started to get his groove back last year, but a foot injury cut his season short. Now, after playing a full game in week one, he has not been able to get through a full game. He left after just 17 snaps in week two with an ankle injury. After coming back from a serious foot injury that is not the part of the body you want to hear injured.
Jackson missed weeks three through five. He came back for week six and played 14 snaps. However, he left early again with a questionable foot injury. At first, Matt Eberflus made it sound like they were being precautionary or they had him on a pitch count. Now, it looks like they will be without him this weekend.
Jackson is another player who saw his status shift. He was limited on Wednesday and went out on Thursday. That type of setback for someone like Jackson is concerning. We already knew that he could not go long on his ankle without having an issue, and it sounds like it took a practice session for him to need more time off. The Chicago Bears would be smart to not only sit him this game but possibly next week as well. They cannot rush this and have to get him back to full health, or he will keep coming back only to leave just a few plays later.