The Bears’ offensive line, the most beleaguered unit on the team, could be thrown into further turmoil with the loss of left tackle Charles Leno.
Leno missed practice Thursday because of a toe injury suffered in practice the day before. If he is out Sunday against the Packers, the bears would be down to two of their original five starters: center Cody Whitehair and right guard Germain Ifedi. Right tackle Bobby Massie and left guard James Daniels are on injured reserve.
That’s bad news for a team that ranks last in the NFL in rushing and has given up the 12th-most sacks.
Coach Matt Nagy was optimistic about Leno because he was able to finish practice Wednesday and said he was held out Thursday because he woke up “a little bit sore.”
The Bears’ next tackle is Jason Spriggs, who was with the Packers the last four seasons. The Bears could use him in Leno’s place and shift Ifedi to right tackle, where he played for the Seahawks.
That would leave Whitehair, Alex Bars, Rashaad Coward and Sam Mustipher for the three interior spots.
Mustipher started at center when Whitehair was out, and Whitehair played half of last season at left guard. Given how much Coward has struggled this season, Bars would be the logical choice at right guard.
That would be the Bears’ fifth different starting offensive line in six games, though it’s possible they would have changed the lineup anyway after reassessing the unit during the bye week.
