The Chicago Bears are gearing up for a bounce-back opportunity in Week 9 as they go to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. After their four-game winning streak came to an end against the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Bears have an excellent opportunity to get back in the W column against the team with the worst defense in the league, which also happens to have its star QB sidelined. Yet, the Bears may not have the personnel to take advantage of this situation on Sunday, as they released a frustratingly long injury report on Wednesday.
The top four wide receivers for the Bears were non-participants in practice, according to the official team report. Luther Burden, who exited Week 8 early with a concussion, didn't practice while DJ Moore was listed with a hip/groin issue, Rome Odunze with a heel injury, and Olamide Zaccheaus with a knee ailment.
Bears May Have to Dig Deep into Their Rotation to Replace Injured WRs
Since this is the first injury report of the week, what this means for the availability of each player is currently unknown. The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs suggested that there may not be much to worry about, given that the team held tryouts for seven players on Tuesday, and none of them were wide receivers. If the Bears were actually concerned about the WR injuries, it would have made sense to bring in a couple of options to evaluate.
On the other hand, D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson were also DNPs with groin and back injuries, respectively. Having this many offensive weapons sidelined and potentially being limited or missing Sunday's game is obviously not ideal. Since Burden has to clear the concussion protocol, he should be considered most at risk to miss Week 9, but the next two days should give us a clearer picture.
The only healthy WRs on the roster are Devin Duvernay and Jahdae Walker. Maurice Alexander, Miles Boykin, and JP Richardson are on the practice squad, waiting for their turn to be elevated. None of the three has ever suited up for Chicago, so if any of the four injured receivers end up missing time, they would be in line to make their Bears debut.
Chicago's offense has struggled in recent weeks, Caleb Williams not providing the reliable competence that Ben Johnson and the coaching staff have been hoping for. With the depth and quality of the receiver corps, the passing game has been underwhelming in the first half of the season. Absence of any starter could further complicate things for the Bears' offense. Whether that ultimately becomes an issue remains to be seen.