What happened Wednesday at Halas Hall:
O-linemen down
After playing 89 snaps Sunday, the Bears were bound to find ways to keep their offensive players fresh. Still, it was jarring to see them practice Wednesday without starting guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright. They didn’t receive “rest” designations, either — Jackson and Wright have ankle injuries and Thuney has a pectoral muscle injury. All three played every snap against the Jets.
Quarterback Tyson Bagent said “those guys will hit the field at some point this week.”
The Bears also sat out both running backs Wednesday: Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe) and D’Andre Swift (hip/knee). Coach Ben Johnson said that Monangai’s thumb was no concern but his body was sore from the game.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett got a veteran rest day. As expected, quarterback Caleb Williams didn’t practice. He has been throwing with teammates, though.
Johnson said before practice that his staff had a long conversation about how best to practice this week and declared things would be “a little bit different.” The Bears were in pads — Johnson considers practicing hard this time of year essential to improvement — though limited some of their offense’s work against the scout team Wednesday.
Kyler back soon?
The Bears have one open spot on their 53-man roster — and it could go to one of three players who are currently on the physically-unable-to-perform list. Chief among them is slot cornerback Kyler Gordon, who returned to practice last week after dealing with a mysterious — and, to his bosses, maddening — calf injury since the spring. Defensive lineman Shemar Turner (knee) and linebacker Noah Sewell (Achilles’ tendon) have been practicing even longer. Game 5 is the earliest anyone who starts the season on PUP can play a game.
“Let’s utilize the time that we have and we’re given, and we’ll make a decision at the end of the week if one of those three are ready to go,” Johnson said.
