The Bears expect all but one starter to be healthy enough to face the Packers in Week 1, head coach Matt Eberflus said Tuesday.
Guard Teven Jenkins, who has a walking boot on his right foot, remains “week-to-week,” Eberflus said. Everyone else is in the Bears’ injury recovery program and on pace to be cleared by the Sept. 10 opener.
“We’ll see where it goes, but it looks good right now,” Eberflus said.
Despite Eberflus’ claim the Bears rank in the middle of the league in terms of preseason injuries, the list of players who have missed practices due to injuries is long: safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker; edge rusher DeMarcus Walker; receiver Chase Claypool; center Cody Whitehair; guard Nate Davis; and right tackle Darnell Wright, the Bears’ first-round pick this season.
Eberflus said that Davis, who has started and finished two padded practices all camp, should be ready. But Eberflus, who coached against him in the AFC South from 2018-21, admitted it was a matter of faith.
“I know what kind of player he is,” he said. “I’ve seen what kind of player he is, the intensity he brings to the line. When he’s been in, he’s looked great. He’s been in there looking good on his pass sets, his jumps to the second level in the run game. …
“The process will take care of itself, and he’ll be ready to go. My past experiences with him, he’s our kind of guy.”
Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds missed practices earlier this month but returned last week and played six snaps Saturday. Yannick Ngakoue, whom the Bears signed to a one-year, $10.5 million deal during training camp, played for the first time this preseason Saturday.
Claypool hurt his hamstring during practice earlier this month. Wright has a right ankle issue. Davis has spent most of training camp unable to participate.
Backup center/guard Lucas Patrick, who is likely to start with Jenkins out, has practiced once since getting hurt during Family Fest on Aug. 6.
The Bears don’t have to release their first NFL-mandated injury report until Sept. 6.
