The Bears will get several key players back from the reserve/COVID-19 list heading into their final two games.
Wide receiver Allen Robinson, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safety Tashaun Gipson — all starters — tested negative and were cleared to return Monday after missing the last two games. The Bears also activated tight end Jesse James and Ryan Nall.
The Bears lost their entire starting secondary leading up to the Vikings game because of a coronavirus outbreak and have cobbled it together with backups Duke Shelley, Kindle Vildor, Deon Bush, Teez Tabor and Thomas Graham.
That group was so depleted that position coach Deshea Townsend, a 46-year-old who played cornerback for 13 seasons, joked about filling in.
“Only in the red zone,” Townsend said Monday. “I’ve got about 11 yards of coverage in me.”
The final two games are important for Robinson as he wraps up a frustrating season and heads into free agency. Between injuries and the virus, he has missed five games and has just 32 catches for 353 yards and a touchdown.
He’s on track for the least productive season of his career aside from when he missed almost all of 2017 with a torn ACL, and that comes at the worst possible time financially. Robinson hoped to hit a big payday in free agency last season after putting up 2,397 yards and 13 touchdowns on 200 catches over 2019 and ’20, but the Bears retained him with the franchise tag for $17.9 million.
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