The Chicago Bears are dealing with yet another injury at the cornerback position as they prepare to make their initial roster cuts for the 2025 season.
According to The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Bears cornerback Josh Blackwell “has a minor injury that is expected to sideline him a few weeks,” adding another wrinkle into the team’s roster decisions leading up to the NFL’s deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Blackwell plays the backup slot role behind Kyler Gordon and is one of the Bears’ top contributors on special teams, which earned him a two-year, $5 million extension in the offseason. While it is fortunate that his injury is categorized as “minor,” it does raise questions about whether he will be available for September 8’s season opener.
The Bears could also decide to place Blackwell on the short-term injured reserve list in the coming days if they believe he needs more than the estimated “few weeks” to heal. Teams can place two players on IR with return designations during the roster cutdown. Those players are eligible to return to the roster after sitting out four games.
Then again, the Bears won’t need to take such a drastic measure if they believe there is a good chance Blackwell can return to the practice field before their first game.
Either way, Blackwell’s injury could cause the Bears to rethink their cornerback depth over the next few days as their initial 53-man roster begins to take shape.
How Much Should Bears Worry About CB Depth?
The Bears are in a relatively dicey situation at cornerback following Blackwell’s injury.
At the top of their depth chart, the Bears remain optimistic that Pro Bowl starter Jaylon Johnson will be ready to return from his leg injury in time for Week 1’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. He has still not taken the first step, however, and returned to practice — as Gordon did last week after missing a few weeks with a hamstring injury.
There are also bigger issues behind Johnson and Gordon on the depth chart.
While the Bears seem content to rely on Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright as two of their boundary cornerbacks in the rotation, they do not have much healthy talent to fill out the other depth roles. Terell Smith is out for the season with the knee injury that he sustained in the second preseason game, while fifth-round rookie Zah Frazier is an unknown at this point after missing all of training camp due to “personal reasons.”
The Bears could — and probably will — keep veteran Nick McCloud (16 career starts) to compensate for those losses, but is that enough depth to keep them from worrying when there is a chance they might not have either Johnson or Blackwell in Week 1?
If it isn’t, Chicago will need to find a way to fix the problem quickly.
Bears Have Multiple Candidates for Short-Term IR
The Bears also have several other players whom they could consider placing on short-term IR and giving designations to return, depending on the severity of their injuries.
Veteran quarterback Case Keenum, for instance, remains day-to-day with a leg injury that knocked him out of practice a few weeks ago and kept him from playing in the Bears’ final two preseason games. Running backs Roschon Johnson (foot) and Travis Homer (calf) have also not practiced since early August with their respective injuries.
If the Bears expect any of the three to miss extended time, then IR could be in play.
The Bears also seem likely to consider second-year edge rusher Austin Booker for the short-term IR list. Bears head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after Friday night’s preseason finale that the team expects Booker to miss “a few weeks” with the knee injury that he suffered in their second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
Again, it all comes down to timing. The Bears do not need to make use of their short-term IR slots if they believe all of their injuries will resolve themselves sooner than the fifth week of the regular season. The situation is worth watching for cut day, though.
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