For the second straight practice, the Bears were without four key starters including Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson and Cody Whitehair.
The Chicago Bears have released their second injury report ahead of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, and Thursday’s report reads about the same as Wednesday’s. And that’s not good news for this Bears team.
For the second straight practice, the Bears were without four key starters. Outside linebacker Khalil Mack, receiver Allen Robinson, Center Cody Whitehair and receiver Cordarrelle Patterson all did not practice Thursday.
Mack suffered an ankle injury in Monday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but he played through it. Now, he appears to be taking it easy on a short week. But his status for Sunday’s game is certainly up in the air, as is true for the others on the injury report.
Robinson remains in the concussion protocol after hitting his head on the turf in the fourth quarter against the Rams, and it’s likely Chicago will be without their best offensive player against a team making a push for the postseason.
Whitehair exited Monday’s game with a calf injury, which head coach Matt Nagy said wasn’t expected to be long-term. But it’s possible the Bears will be down two starting offensive linemen against a Saints pass rush that’s looking to eat, which means it could be a long day for quarterback Nick Foles.
With Patterson not practicing for the second straight day, it’s looking more and more likely that we’ll see running back Lamar Miller promoted to the active roster to back-up David Montgomery.
Rookie tight end Cole Kmet returned to practice on Thursday as he’s dealing with a sore back. Safety Eddie Jackson remained limited in practice after suffering a knee injury that gave everyone quite a scare on Monday night. Safety and special teams ace Sherrick McManis practiced for the second straight day in a limited capacity, which means his status for Sunday is encouraging.