The Bears practiced Thursday without their Week 1 starters at running back and quarterback.
David Montgomery still has the concussion he suffered Sunday against the Titans. Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky remained out of practice 11 days after he hurt his right shoulder when he was tackled in his only play against the Saints.
Trubisky missed all three practices last week, when he flew to Los Angeles to get a second opinion on his shoulder. Trubisky won’t be put on injured reserve or require surgery.
“Mitch is back in the building,” coach Matt Nagy said Thursday. “He’s doing well. It was good to see him. He has a good energy with him right now. I think for him it was good to see him back in here and get back on track.”
Five more players missed practice Thursday with injuries: center Sam Mustipher (knee), right tackle Jason Spriggs (knee), nose tackle John Jenkins (ankle), safety Sherrick McManis (broken finger) and tight end Cole Kmet (groin).
Spriggs came off the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week and will start Monday if he’s healthy.
Tight end Jimmy Graham, defensive lineman Akiem Hicks and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan got veteran days off.
Two of the Bears’ best players were new additions to the injury report: inside linebacker Roquan Smith (back) and receiver Allen Robinson (knee) were limited, as were safety Tashaun Gipson (foot) and outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo (shoulder).
Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris was put on injured reserve, as expected, after sources confirmed earlier this week that he’ll need shoulder surgery.
COVID update
Center Cody Whitehair and guard Lachavious Simmons remain on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Nagy didn’t offer details about whether or not Whitehair is symptomatic.
“That’s not something that I need to get into,” he said.
It matters, though: NFL rules say that players can’t return until at least 10 days after their symptoms first appeared and three days since they last appeared. Asymptomatic players, though, can return as soon as five days after the initial positive, provided they test negative twice at least 24 hours apart.
The sooner he returns, the sooner Whitehair will stabilize an offensive line forced to give Alex Bars his first start at center — at any level — last week.
The Bears took safety Deon Bush off the reserve/COVID-19 before practice. He landed on the list Saturday after having close contact with an infected person unaffiliated with the Bears.
