The Chicago Bears’ trenches will be shorthanded on Sunday.
On Friday’s injury report, the Bears have designated defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, right tackle Darnell Wright and linebacker TJ Edwards out for Sunday’s game vs. Las Vegas.
Running back D’Andre Swift, tight end Colston Loveland and cornerback Kyler Gordon have all been listed as questionable, too.
Here’s what that means for the Bears.
What we know:
Jarrett has been fighting a nagging knee injury since Week 1, and he’ll miss Sunday. Still, the Bears have depth behind Jarrett. Expect either Chris Williams or Andrew Billings to get the start next to Gervon Dexter Sr.
What’s more interesting is who fills Wright’s shoes at right tackle.
Against the Cowboys, Wright exited before the end of the first half. He ended up returning, but while he was out Theo Benedet took his place.
Benedet might now be in line for his first career start in the NFL.
“We saw a continuation of training camp, which is a player that’s going to battle his tail off,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said on Friday. “He commits to the fundamentals, he plays with low pad level, he comes off the ball, he’s willing to strike you.”
Benedet has risen up the Bears’ depth chart in training camp to a point where he was battling for the starting left tackle job with Braxton Jones.
Jones held off Benedet for the starting gig, but Benedet has been waiting in the wings. This could be a chance to show exactly what made him rise up the roster and catch the coaching staff’s eye in August.
“I think as a pass protector, he continues to get better every single day. We see that,” Johnson said. “Coach Roushar and Kyle DeVan, they’re on him. I think he’s taken a step in the right direction. I have a lot of confidence in him. If he goes out there and is called upon he’s going to go out there and battle it out.”
Now, he’s in line to earn that first start, barring a last-second pivot to rookie tackle Ozzy Trapilo. However, Traplio has been a healthy scratch for the first three weeks of the season, making it more likely the coaching staff will give Benedet the chance to start.
Edwards will miss his third game of the season, however the Bears are comfortable with Noah Sewell filling in there as the inside linebacker, which gives Tremaine Edmunds a chance to be a playmaker.
Dig deeper:
With Swift, Loveland and Gordon all questionable, it remains to be seen if any of those three are game-time decisions.
It remains likely the Bears play it safe with Gordon as he recovers from his hamstring injury that kept him out of the first three games of the season, especially with the bye week on the other end of Week 4. Giving Gordon two weeks to ramp up and prepare for the Washington Commanders would ensure he’s ready for Monday Night Football in Week 6.
It remains to be seen if they offer the same treatment to Loveland, as the Bears have Durham Smythe and Cole Kmet alongside in the tight end room.