The Chicago Bears have another two injuries to monitor for their starting lineup heading into Week 8’s road game with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Bears added starting linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (ankle) and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (calf/groin) to their injury report for Sunday’s game against the Ravens, downgrading them to limited participants for Thursday’s second practice of the week.
Edmunds and Gordon will have one more practice to work through their injuries and avoid status designations on the injury report against the Ravens, but the newness of their respective injuries raises some availability concerns for the Bears this week.
The Bears also spent Thursday’s practice without another one of their top cornerbacks, Tyrique Stevenson, who dropped out with a shoulder injury in the second quarter of Week 7’s win over the New Orleans Saints and has since kept off the practice field.
If neither Stevenson nor Gordon can play on Sunday, the Bears would have to take on the Ravens without all three of their top cornerbacks, including All-Pro Jaylon Johnson — who remains on the injured reserve list and is out indefinitely with a groin injury.
The Bears (4-2) will take on the Ravens (1-5) at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Could Bears Injuries Create Elevation Opportunity?
With Gordon’s addition to the injury report, the Bears are once again looking thin at the cornerback position. Will they call up any help from their practice squad, though?
The Bears have all three of their top rostered cornerbacks, excluding Johnson, on their injury report heading into the matchup with the Ravens. Nahshon Wright, the team’s replacement for Johnson on the perimeter, is also dealing with a hip injury; however, he improved from a limited participant to a full-go between the first two practices.
Even if all three cornerbacks play, the Bears may want to elevate another defensive back from their practice squad to give themselves more flexibility against the Ravens. Dallis Flowers was the Bears’ choice when they made a cornerback elevation in Week 3, but they also have undrafted rookie Dontae Manning to consider — if they feel he is ready.
In either case, the Bears would still more likely than not trust their rostered backups — Josh Blackwell, Nick McCloud and Jaylon Jones — with rotational or fill-in snaps if they needed more help, but a practice-squad safety net might also serve a useful purpose.
Thursday Also Brought Good News for Bears Injuries
For all the potential problems the Bears could have at cornerback, they did emerge from Thursday’s practice with more good news than bad news in terms of their injury report.
The Bears also upgraded five players at Thursday’s practice. Veteran wide receiver DJ Moore (hip) and running back D’Andre Swift (groin) improved from non-participants to limited participants, while placekicker Cairo Santos (right thigh), Wright (hip) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) jumped from limited to full participation.
Jarrett’s improvement to full participation is particularly noteworthy. The former Pro Bowl veteran has missed three consecutive games with his knee injury, but his return would help strengthen the Bears’ run defense against Ravens veteran running back Derrick Henry and two-time MVP and all-time QB rushing leader Lamar Jackson.
Cole Kmet (back) and Roschon Johnson (back) both missed their second consecutive practices. The Bears also downgraded backup offensive tackle Braxton Jones (knee) from a limited participant to a non-participant along with Edmunds and Gordon.
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