Eberflus: Gordon and Jenkins limited in practice, Hicks to get opportunity |
LONDON, U.K. - In addition to the three players already ruled out of the London game this coming Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars (8:30 a.m. / NFL Network), head coach Matt Eberflus announced on Wednesday that two other players were limited in practice, putting their availability for the game into question.
Cornerback Kyler Gordon is dealing with a heel injury, while offensive lineman Teven Jenkins is dealing with an ankle injury. “Gordon is dealing with a heel, a little bit of a heel bruise. But he’s working through that. He (was) limited,” Eberflus. “Then (Jenkins) has an ankle from the game, and (he had) left the game. He (was) limited, and we’ll see where he is (Thursday).” The three players already ruled out are safety Jaquan Brisker with a concussion, cornerback Terell Smith with a hip injury, and defensive lineman Zacch Pickens with a groin injury. Smith has been out since Chicago’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, while Pickens has been out since the Bears played the Indianapolis Colts; however, he only played 11 percent of the defensive snaps against the Houston Texans back in week two. With the injury to Brisker, this gives safety Elijah Hicks the opportunity to step up and show what he can do. Hicks is going into his third year with Chicago after being selected by the Bears in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He has played in every game this season for the Bears and has a total of 37 games under his belt. Eberflus is confident that Hicks will be able to step up to the challenge this coming Sunday. “Elijah’s done a really good job for us in the past. He’s been in our system,” Eberflus said. “So, we trust him, know him. He knows the system well. So, he’s excited about the opportunity.” Chicago has one of the younger defenses in the NFL. Brisker is a 2022 draft selection, as well as Gordon. On the defensive line, 2023 NFL Draft second-round pick Gervon Dexter has stepped up just as everyone anticipated he would this season. He has a sack in four out of five games so far this season, leading Chicago in sacks, and is currently tied for No. 10 in the league. Against the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday, he had his first career fumble recovery. “To me, it’s about the work he’s put in. He’s put his body and his mind, in terms of toughness level and focus level, that’s been unmatched that I’ve seen. He’s really worked himself into the position he’s in,” Eberflus said. “So, his execution and his production is really no surprise to me this far in the year, and I really believe that he’s going to take some bigger strides here coming forward because he continues to work with great determination every single day.” Offensively, things have not been as smooth. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams initially struggled to develop chemistry with his receivers. The offense as a whole lacked cohesiveness and was stagnant during the first few games of the season. However, that has changed in the past two weeks against the Rams and Panthers. Eberflus sees this as signs that the team is growing and developing its winning formula, and Williams is continuing to learn and develop as an NFL quarterback. “We’re growing as a football team. From the first game to now, we’re learning and finding our formula for winning and I think that’s (an) important thing to do early in the season and the guys are really starting to gel together. They’ve always been close, but now they’re really communicating well, attention to detail in the walkthrough, in practice and it’s showing in the games,” Eberflus said. “He’s comfortable in his own skin and he’s a willing learner and he wants to learn and he wants to get better and wants to learn from everybody. Not just the coaches, but the players and he wants to learn the people around him too and he’s done a really good job of having his support people around him, even through college and even now, and I think that’s helped him and prepared him to be in a good spot.”
