The Chicago Bears are set to battle the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Saturday afternoon.
When the Bears take the field, they’ll be looking to avenge a tough 28-21 loss at Lambeau Field just two weeks ago. The Bears rebounded from a tough first half the last time these two teams met, scoring 18 points in the second half.
Which Chicago Bears are Trending Poorly?
If they’re going to win this time around and put themselves clearly into the driver’s seat to win the NFC North, they’re going to need to get some of their walking wounded back on the field.
Rome Odunze
The big story on the injury report came with their pass catchers. Rome Odunze has been banged up for multiple weeks. He missed the first meeting between these two teams, but did return briefly last week against the Cleveland Browns.
When Chicago’s 31-3 victory over the Browns ended, Ben Johnson spoke about Odunze’s injury and the need to keep all options on the table.
“All options are on the table,” Johnson said via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “There may be a case that we need to protect him from himself a little bit so he can help us down the road.”
On Thursday, the Bears officially ruled Odunze out for the Week 16 game against the Packers.
Luther Burden III
When Odunze missed the first game between the Packers and Bears, it was Chicago’s second-round pick, Luther Burden III, who helped fill the void. He led the team with 67 yards receiving on four receptions against the Packers.
He did not practice in the week leading up to the game against the Packers, and on Thursday, the Bears announced that Burden would not play against the Packers.
Cole Kmet and Tremaine Edmunds Trending Up Ahead of Bears-Packers Matchup
Cole Kmet
Cole Kmet left Sunday’s win over the Browns with an ankle injury. He was the target of Caleb Williams’ last pass in their loss to the Packers two weeks ago, which Keisean Nixon intercepted.
Kmet is a big part of Chicago’s offense, both in the run and pass games. Considering he walked gingerly off the field on Sunday, the fact that he was estimated to be able to practice is good news.
On Thursday, Kmet fully practiced and confirmed himself that he will play against the Packers.
Tremaine Edmunds
Edmunds was placed on injured reserve just before Thanksgiving and missed the first meeting between these two teams. This week, it sounds like the Bears are getting good news on their star linebacker.
READ MORE: Super Bowl Champion Calls Out Caleb Williams Over Glaring Flaws As Bears QB Chases History
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that Chicago was opening the 21-day practice window for Edmunds and that he had a good chance to play this weekend against Green Bay.
Edmunds is part of the takeaway machine that is the Chicago defense, with four interceptions. That is just behind defensive backs Kevin Byard (six) and Nashon Wright (five) for the team lead.
He was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, but fully practiced on Thursday. As of now, Edmunds is listed as questionable for the game against the Packers.
Chicago Injury Report Adds Andrew Billings, Amen Ogbongbemiga to DNP List
Apart from those who have already been mentioned, here are the rest of the players who were listed as those estimated not to participate in Tuesday’s practice.
- Defensive tackle Andrew Billings (illness)
- Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (ankle)
- Limited: Running Back Travis Homer (ankle)
- Full: Quarterback Tyson Bagent (illness)
