Chicago Bears: Injuries Jar Team Ahead Of Game Against Hated Packers

The injury bug hit the Chicago Bears hard the past few weeks. It has them very thin ahead of their game against their hated rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

There is something going on around Halas Hall. Over the past several years the Chicago Bears have been hit hard by the injury bug. Multiple key players went down due to injuries. We saw that last season when Khalil Mack was on his way to one of his best seasons (six sacks in seven games) before he missed the final nine games because of an injury.

The injury bug is hitting the team very hard this season. Lucas Patrick has not been able to play the center position he came to play. He broke his thumb in training camp. He ended up having to play guard. Then, when he finally took over at center, he hurt his toe and is now out for the season.

Running back Khalil Herbert, the Bears’ second-leading rusher, had to go on injured reserve a couple of weeks ago and miss at least four games.

Last week was a horrible mess for Chicago. Quarterback Justin Fields was inactive because of a separated shoulder. That meant that two-thirds of the best rushing attack in the NFL were missing.

In addition to Fields, cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were also inactive due to concussions.

Then, in the game, the bodies started to pile up. Offensive linemen Riley Reiff and Larry Borom both left the game. They also had Teven Jenkins, who was just returning after missing a couple of games with a hip injury. Additionally, safety Eddie Jackson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney fell.

The Mooney injury was the worst-case scenario. He hurt his ankle when a player fell on him while he was blocking. It is a serious injury that requires surgery and now he’s out for the rest of the season.

It appears as if Jackson is on a similar road. He reportedly suffered a Lisfranc injury on his foot. He is seeking more opinions on his condition but, for now, is out indefinitely. It seems he also might be out for the rest of the season.

Losing Mooney and Jackson is a big blow for the team as it prepares to battle the hated Green Bay Packers this week. Add that to the fact that we don’t know if Fields, Gordon, and Brisker return, and it looks as if it could be an ugly game for the Bears.

Some feel the injuries are a blessing in disguise

Some people feel that this might actually be a good thing for the Chicago Bears. There are two main reasons for this. First, with key players out, it makes winning games more difficult. The Bears already had a tough schedule to finish out the season. With the injuries, however, a difficult job is now nearly impossible.

With the losses piling up, the Bears’ position in the draft has also gone up. They currently own the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. For many, that is great news. General manager Ryan Poles could decide to wheel and deal with high picks to acquire more draft picks. In this year’s draft, he did that to turn five picks into 11. Combine the draft picks and having the most available salary cap space in the league and Poles could hasten the rebuild.

Second, the injuries give a lot of young players a chance at seeing more snaps. Poles has to decide who stays and who goes when the rebuild goes into full mode next offseason. That decision could be easier now that he sees the young players play a larger number of snaps. Instead of looking at what they did in practice and some garbage time late in games, Poles can see how they do in the heat of the game in significant moments.

While these injuries could end up helping in the long run, it is never good to see players get injured. Also, it would be nice to see a win against the hated Packers. They’ve lost seven in a row and 12 of their last 13 games against the Cheeseheads. A win could add hope for the rebuild.