Bears O-line getting thinner as Borom, Simmons exit with injuries
The Bears offensive line was already looking thin due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, but it took two more hits Friday during training camp at Halas Hall.
Before practice, Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that offensive tackle Larry Borom had entered the concussion protocol. Borom had been taking reps at left tackle with the first-team offense in the absence of several other tackles ahead of him on the depth chart.
On Friday, tackle Lachavious Simmons left practice early and was evaluated for a concussion. His injury left the Bears with only nine able-bodied linemen to finish out the first of three straight days of padded practices.
Tackle Teven Jenkins (back), guard James Daniels (quad), tackle Germain Ifedi (hip) and tackle Elijah Wilkinson (reserve/COVID-19 list) have already been out. Jenkins and Ifedi - the presumed starting left and right tackles, respectively - have yet to practice during camp.
The Bears offensive line started Friday's practice with only two of the five expected starters: center Sam Mustipher and guard Cody Whitehair. Arlington Hambright slid in at the other guard spot with Alex Bars and Simmons playing the tackle spots. Simmons' injury sent that lineup into further chaos.
"We've just got to monitor the volume of reps when we're out there in the team (drills)," Bears head coach Matt Nagy said. "This is part of that challenge when you're at those (low) numbers in some spots. It just happens to be the offensive line right now that we've got to adapt and make sure that we're monitoring the amount of reps that they get when they're out there."
It's not overly concerning for the regular season, yet. The Bears don't play a meaningful game until Sept. 12. They, however, have their first preseason game in eight days on Aug. 14 against Miami. It's safe to assume the Bears hadn't envisioned starting Alex Bars at tackle in that game.
And they might not need to. A lot can change in a week.
Bars is a third-year pro who came to the Bears as an undrafted rookie in 2019. He played in all 16 games last season, with eight starts, but none of those starts came at tackle.
"We play offensive line, we understand the role that we play for our team," Bars said. "Obviously, we're dropping guys, but it's kind of a whatever mentality."
Jenkins, the rookie second-round draft pick, has yet to participate in camp. That might be the most concerning of the injuries on the offensive line.
The Bears cut left tackle Charles Leno after drafting Jenkins, and all but served up the starting left tackle job to Jenkins on a silver platter. The longer Jenkins' back injury lingers, the more that plan seems to be in doubt. The Bears don't have anyone on the roster with much experience starting at left tackle in the NFL.
Offensive line coach Juan Castillo said this week that he's not overly concerned about Jenkins' back injury. While missing time is not ideal, Jenkins was a full participant throughout OTAs and minicamp.
"He was already in a pretty good place," Castillo said. "So that part I'm not really worried about. It's just the thing is now, now you've got to come in and compete with Larry because Larry's playing well. Elijah's still in there, so there's some good competition there."
The Bears could have Wilkinson off the reserve/COVID-19 list in a couple of days. He has experience at right tackle, but the Bears have been giving him reps on the left side.
Full injury update: The full injury list is long. OT Teven Jenkins (back), S Tashaun Gipson (groin), OL James Daniels (quad), DB Michael Joseph (hamstring), LB Josh Woods (quad), DB Artie Burns (quad), OLB Robert Quinn (back), LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe (hamstring), OT Larry Borom (concussion) and CB Desmond Trufant (hamstring) all sat out practice Friday.
DT Eddie Goldman, LS Patrick Scales, LB Christian Jones and offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Additionally, S Eddie Jackson (hamstring), OT Germain Ifedi (hip flexor) and RB Tarik Cohen (knee) are on the reserve list and have yet to practice during camp.