Eberflus discusses several players out against Colts |
CHICAGO - Head coach Matt Eberflus provided some injury updates ahead of Chicago’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday (Noon / CBS). Four Bears will be out for this game - wide receiver Keenan Allen with his heel as well as for personal reasons, running back Khari Blasingame, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and running back Travis Homer.
Homer will be going on injured reserve (IR) after he injured his finger in practice this week, which required surgery. In addition, guard Nate Davis is a game-time decision after he injured his groin. With Homer out for at least the next four games, this provides an opportunity for second-year back Roschon Johnson who has not played a single offensive snap this season despite being available for both of the first two games. Chicago elected to have him be inactive for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. While he was active against the Houston Texans, as evidenced by him getting punched in the face on the sideline, Johnson only played on special teams. Now, he has a reasonable chance to get his first offensive snaps of the season against Indianapolis. “Roschon looked good last week. We were excited about what he looked like last week and he looked better this week,” Eberflus said. “So, it’s going to be good for him and we’ll see what the rotation is as we go. But, we got some good plays for everybody.” Luckily for Bears fans, guard Teven Jenkins will be available for the Bears against the Colts. However, with Davis’ status in question and his play last week not being great, Eberflus mentioned the possibility of offensive lineman Matt Pryor playing his first offensive snaps of the season. Up to this point, he has only played snaps on special teams. “He’s a large human being, that’s for sure. So, he eats up some space in there. But, he’s really improved. He’s one of our most-improved linemen and I know he’s been playing and all that, but we really see improvement in him and what he’s brought to the table in terms of his work ethic, his energy and what he brings there too as a teammate,” Eberflus said. “So, super excited for him. If he’s working in there with Nate or whatever that might be, we’ll see in terms of getting closer to the game. But, he’s really had a good work week.” Given the offensive line's performance last week, another possibility was rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie making his NFL debut after he was removed from the injury report this week. However, Eberflus seemed to shut that down, but Amegadjie is “really close.” “He’s really close. He’s been working his tail off. His fundamentals are getting better,” Eberflus said. “We love his length and his energy and the passion that he plays with, and he’s been doing good, and I’ve been asking the defensive ends and the d-line coaches about him pretty much at least two or three times a week about him and it’s all positive and he’s getting better. So, it’s good to see.” Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams certainly would have benefitted from Allen being able to return this week. However, the most critical thing is protecting him, which Chicago did not do last week. Williams’ start to his NFL career has probably not been anything like he imagined. Eberflus advises Williams to keep steady and stick to his plan. So far, that is exactly what the Heisman winner is doing. “You got to be steady. You got to make sure that your process and your plan comes together. Caleb’s 22 years old, so he’s going through this for the first time and he’s learning that process and plan. He’s got a good plan. You just got to stick to it, go about your business. You can’t listen to this or that or the other thing, can’t listen to the outside noise,’ Eberflus said. “You got to do right and keep doing right and then you’ll get the right result and he’s doing that and I was really proud of him the way he worked this week and the way he put together, with the coaches, this game plan with everybody else. So, it was good to see.”
