Eddie Goldman’s availability in doubt once again originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Another week and another question about Eddie Goldman’s availability.
One day after returning to practice in a limited capacity, Goldman was absent completely from Thursday’s practice.
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The absence in practice came just 90 minutes after Bears head coach Matt Nagy expressed some optimism about both Goldman (knee) and left tackle Jason Peters (quad).
“Yeah, I am,” Nagy said when asked if he’s more encouraged about Goldman and Peters after both practiced on a limited basis Wednesday. “I think they are in a good place and we’ll continue to monitor them day-by-day but I would say, as I’ve used before, arrow up for them. I feel good about them and we need to see each day how we go but they’ve been doing well.”
Goldman missed the Bears’ first game of the season with a knee injury suffered on Labor Day.
Peters again practiced in a limited capacity Thursday after not being able to finish Sunday’s 34-14 loss to the Rams because of the quad injury, which occurred in the second quarter.
As for Goldman, his availability has been a concern for over a year now. After opting out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goldman did not participate in the team’s offseason program, including mandatory veteran minicamp. He then quickly ended up on the COVID-19 list after arriving for training camp and was forced to sit out 10 days. After returning, Goldman then dealt with a back issue and missed the first two preseason games before receiving limited playing time in the preseason finale against the Titans. The nose tackle looked very good in those limited snaps, but then suffered the knee injury Sept. 6, just six days before the opener.
“I think he would provide a great boost,” Bears defensive tackle Bilal Nichols said about Goldman Thursday. “Just a player of his caliber, I say it time and time again — in my opinion, he’s the best at his position in football. Just having a player like that, it’s always gonna give you a boost. Being able to see him back out on the field after such a long time, generally, you would be happy for him as a teammate.”
There sure seemed to be some optimism about Goldman before everyone arrived on the practice field Thursday, but now his status for Sunday’s game against the Bengals is back in doubt.
