Injury report: Fields in; Brisker, Gordon, Borom out originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
After weeks of tough losses throughout the roster, the Bears finally delivered some good news on their final injury report ahead of the Packers game. Justin Fields practiced in full for the second day in a row on Friday, and has no game designation for Sunday. He’s not questionable or doubtful, he’s healthy.
“He’s shown grit and toughness throughout the whole year,” said Matt Eberflus. “His ability to come back this fast through injury and to go out there and play is a big boost for our offense and it shows the kind of guys that we want. We want guys that are tough, that are physical, and again, he’s been medically cleared to play. He’s 100%. Going forward, we’ll see where it goes. Hopefully it keeps trending that way and go from there.”
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
It wasn’t all good news though. The Bears will be without rookie defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker for the second-straight game, as they each remain in the concussion protocol. Eddie Jackson has already been ruled out for the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury, so the Bears will roll with DeAndre Houston-Carson and seventh-round rookie Elijah Hicks at safety. Dane Cruikshank is also on IR, so the next man up would be UDFA rookie A.J. Thomas if either Hicks or Houston-Carson go down. With Gordon out, the Bears will likely use Kindle Vildor as the outside corner opposite Jaylon Johnson, although Vildor is also questionable with an ankle injury. In nickel packages, the Bears will likely use Jaylon Jones in the slot.
The right tackle picture clarified on Friday, as well. Larry Borom was ruled out for the Packers game due to his knee/ankle injury, but Riley Reiff is trending in the right direction. He gradually improved from DNP, to limited, to full throughout the week of practice and is officially questionable for Sunday. If Reiff can’t go, the team may turn to Alex Leatherwood, who has yet to make his Bears debut.
The Bears got healthier at wide receiver, too. Neither Chase Claypool (knee) nor Dante Pettis (illness) have a game designation after missing portions of practice earlier in the week. The Bears will be looking for all their wideouts to step up in the offense since Eberflus said it’s likely Darnell Mooney misses the rest of the season on Monday. Claypool and Pettis have each shown budding chemistry with Fields this year, and will likely see more opportunities over the last five games of the year.
Local
Finally, Eberflus announced Trevor Siemian will miss the rest of the season due to the oblique injury he sustained during warmups before the Jets game. Nathan Peterman will be Fields’ backup against the Packers, with newcomer Tim Boyle operating as QB3.
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
