The Chicago Bears have promoted quarterback Matt Barkley from the practice squad to their 53-man roster, a transaction that seems to shed additional light on Jay Cutler's status for Week 3.
Cutler left Monday night's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with a sprained thumb and was unable to practice Wednesday as the Bears began preparations for Sunday's game in Dallas.
The expectation all along has been that Cutler would miss the game against the Cowboys with Brian Hoyer taking over as the starter for the immediate future. The full timeline for Cutler's absence remains hard to determine. But the promotion of Barkley would seem to be a tell that the 26-year-old quarterback would be Hoyer's backup Sunday night with Cutler almost certainly inactive.
In a corresponding move, the Bears placed outside linebacker Lamarr Houston on injured reserve with a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee. The team also re-signed fullback Paul Lasike to the practice squad.
