The Chicago Bears were without several key starters Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but it sounds like two of them might be close to coming back.
Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, who suffered a knee injury against the Washington Redskins in Week 3, missed his first start as a Bear.
Bears coach Matt Nagy said Hicks was close to playing against the Vikings. But the Bears defense showed that, should Hicks need more time to recover, they can step up in his absence.
“He was close, yeah,” Nagy said Monday. “He was literally that game-time decision. He went out there and just felt OK, so we just felt like at that point in time, let’s just not do it.
“Our guys stepped up. We had some guys step up on that defensive line. You go back and turn on that tape and you see some guys flying around. I want to give credit to, really, all the assistant coaches over there, but Jay Rodgers did a good job with getting his guys ready. That’s what this is all about.”
On the other side of the ball, right tackle Kyle Long was nursing a hip injury. While he was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, he missed practice on Thursday and Friday. Like Hicks, he was a game-time decision that Nagy ultimately chose to play it safe with.
“With Kyle, it was just one of those things where he was just feeling pain and we just felt like, right now, with where you’re at, we have depth let’s see where you’re at,” Nagy said. “And then, game time, he was the same as Hicks – he just wasn’t feeling it, so we felt OK, it’s the next man up.”
With the Bears traveling to London on Thursday for a Week 5 matchup against the Raiders, Nagy hinted that Chicago’s plans for handling injuries might change slightly.
“So I think that the one thing — injury-wise, there’s a little uniqueness to it,” Nagy said. “But again, [head trainer] Andre Tucker, our staff will do a good job with them. They’ll have a plan. I don’t worry too much about that with the schedules and stuff — the guys will be fine.”
