The Bears also ruled out backup Andy Dalton. Foles will play Sunday for the first time in nearly a year.
Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t seem too concerned about quarterback Justin Fields’ ankle early in the week. He said he expected him to play Sunday against the Seahawks and portrayed scaling back his work in practice during the week as simply a precaution.
Turns out it was quite a bit cloudier than that, and Fields is likely to miss the game.
The Bears will start third-stringer Nick Foles against the Seahawks, and practice-squad quarterback Ryan Willis most likely will back him up.
Nagy said Friday that Fields would be available off the bench if he proves healthy enough in pre-game warmups, but specified that would be as an “emergency” option in case Willis doesn’t have a clear enough grasp of the playbook. Taking even the slightest risk with Fields wouldn’t make sense given that the Bears have nothing to play for in the standings.
Fields is officially listed as questionable against the Seahawks. The Bears also declared backup Andy Dalton out with non-throwing hand and groin injuries.
Foles has not played since Dec. 27 against the Jaguars.
The Bears signed Willis, 25, to their practice squad Dec. 18. He went undrafted out of Virginia Tech in 2020 and has never taken an NFL snap.
The Bears didn’t actually practice this week since their roster has been depleted by the coronavirus and injuries, but the NFL requires them to estimate what any injured player’s participation would’ve been if they had. In Fields’ case, the team said he wouldn’t have been able to work Thursday or Friday.
The NFL also mandates that they update his status if it changes anytime between now and kickoff.
Fields “tweaked” his ankle in the second quarter of the Bears’ 17-9 loss to the Vikings on Monday, but stayed in the game and said Wednesday he expected to play in Seattle.
The Vikings hit him seven times on pass plays, including three sacks, and he took various hits on his seven rushes.
The Bears traded for Foles in the 2020 offseason hoping he’d solve their ongoing quarterback problem, but Mitch Trubisky beat him out for the job to open the season. Foles replaced Trubisky in Week 3, but was benched again in favor of Trubisky in Week 12 for the rest of the season.
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3mufld6
No comments:
Post a Comment