Sunday’s matchup between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens experienced a flurry of injury news 24 hours before kickoff.
The Bears placed nickel corner Kyler Gordon (calf) and left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) on injured reserve. Both players had been ruled out for Sunday, but now their availability for the rest of the season is in doubt.
Both injuries occurred in Thursday’s practice. Gordon missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury, which he suffered in a walk-through before the season opener. He had a sack against the Saints and is one of the Bears’ top defensive backs. He cannot return until Week 12 at the earliest.
Earlier in the season, Nick McCloud filled in as the nickel corner for Gordon, but with starting outside corner Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder) out for Sunday, McCloud may be playing the boundary with Josh Blackwell getting the nod as the nickel corner. Blackwell, a special teams stalwart, has filled in for Gordon before in his career.
Another option would be Jaylon Jones on the outside and McCloud playing the slot. The Bears called up defensive back Dallis Flowers from the practice squad for depth.
The defense will head into Baltimore, and possibly multiple games (depending on Stevenson’s status), without any of its original starting cornerbacks, which was its strongest position. Jaylon Johnson is on IR.
Jones lost his left tackle job to Theo Benedet, but he is the top backup at the position and has the most experience. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo will likely now be the backup for both tackle spots for the foreseeable future.
The Bears hoped to get defensive end Austin Booker back from IR for this game, but he was ruled out despite a second week in a row practicing in full. He’s missed all six games this season with a knee injury after recording four sacks in the preseason. The Bears have until Tuesday to activate Booker. Otherwise, he’d have to spend the rest of the season on IR.
Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, whose 21-day practice window opened this week, was also ruled out and will remain on IR.
The Bears also called up tight end Stephen Carlson from the practice squad. He’ll be the No. 3 tight end, as Durham Smythe moves up the depth chart in place of Cole Kmet, who will miss the first game of his career.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Ford was signed to the active roster. The Bears had used up their practice-squad call-ups on the veteran, who’s a solid run defender.
All this comes in the backdrop of a curveball in Baltimore. The Ravens designated quarterback Lamar Jackson as a full practice participant on Friday and listed him as questionable. The presumption was that a full practice would put Jackson in position to start, but the Ravens not only downgraded Jackson to out on Saturday, but stated that his designation should have been limited in Friday’s practice.
Head coach Ben Johnson said they’d be preparing all week to face Jackson. It’s possible Baltimore would’ve wanted to take it to 90 minutes before kickoff before reports came out Saturday morning about Jackson’s status. It’ll be Tyler Huntley starting for Baltimore. He led a 16-13 comeback win over the Bears at Soldier Field in 2021 — Jackson has never faced the Bears.
The point spread had the Ravens as 7-point favorites Saturday morning. The Jackson news moved it five points, per BetMGM.