The Chicago Bears, as it currently stands, will face the Tennessee Titans in Week 9 with an offensive line that’s without three of its starters and a top reserve.
Here’s who’s out: Bobby Massie (right tackle), Cody Whitehair (center), James Daniels (left guard), and Jason Spriggs (reserve right tackle).
Starting right guard Germain Ifedi is currently quarantining because of his close contact with Spriggs, who tested positive for COVID-19.
Needless to say, this isn’t great for a team that could barely run the ball with a healthy batch of starters. But this is life in the NFL. Injuries are a part of the game, and coach Matt Nagy knows it.
“All of us have to step up and be able to adapt,” Matt Nagy said. “I mean that’s kind of been our word this whole time … adjust and adapt and expect the unexpected, and every day it’s always something new. So it would be one thing, I think, if you have a bunch of people that looked at the glass half empty and just everything was difficult – but we don’t really do it that way here, and so it’s exciting for our guys to be able to get an opportunity here in practice. And who knows where this thing goes for gameday.”
Ifedi could still end up playing Sunday, but if he doesn’t, it’s anyone’s guess what the Bears’ starting offensive line will be comprised of.
Still, Nagy is remaining positive despite the obvious challenges that lie ahead.
“I feel really good about coach Juan and the way he handles these situations. He always has his guys as mentally prepared as they can be. So we’ll just … whatever they tell us, that’s what we’ll roll with.”