Chicago Bears 'cautiously optimistic' that Mitchell Trubisky will start against Lions

The Chicago Bears already faced one of the shortest possible NFL turnarounds, playing Sunday night at home and then again in the earliest of Thursday's three Thanksgiving Day games, this time on the road.

Now, there's a question about the status of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Chicago's second-year starter has an injury to his right shoulder, apparently suffered on a hit by the Minnesota Vikings' Harrison Smith after a 5-yard run late in the game. Smith's hit into Trubisky's left shoulder drove his right shoulder into the ground; the safety was flagged for a personal foul on the play. The Bears will play in Detroit at 12:30 EST on Thursday.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," coach Matt Nagy told reporters Tuesday, "but I can't make any promises. I hope he does [play]. He wants to play. I know that. But we've got to make sure in these situations we're doing the right thing."

Nagy described Trubisky's status as "day-to-day," and said that if he can't play, the Bears would start Chase Daniel in Detroit.

"I know that Chase, this is one of the reasons he's here, if we get in a situation like this where we have to make a decision one way or the other," Nagy said. "This is why you have a guy like Chase. You feel very comfortable with him. Chase understands. He's the oldest guy on our team, so he's got experience."