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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Chicago Bears may not have starting right tackle Darnell Wright available for Sunday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers after adding him to their injury report just one day before their Week 17 kickoff.
The Bears officially added Wright to the injury report on Saturday, December 27, with an illness and ruled him questionable to play against the 49ers in Week 17’s road game. The team also announced that Wright won’t travel with the rest of the team out West.
Wright is now the fifth Bears player to land on this week’s injury report with an illness, joining cornerbacks Nahshon Wright, Josh Blackwell and Nick McCloud and linebacker D’Marco Jackson. They ruled all of them questionable except for McCloud, who is out.
The Bears would be without their top offensive tackle and one of their best run-blockers if they cannot clear Wright in time to play against the 49ers. It is possible, though, that he could still travel separately and clear the necessary medical checks in time to play.
The Bears (11-4) will kick off against the 49ers (11-4) at 8:20 p.m. ET on December 28.
Theo Benedet Could Start in Place of Darnell Wright
The Bears can hold out until roughly an hour before kickoff to decide whether Wright plays against the 49ers, but there is a good chance that they will know his status long before that, considering he would need to start the process of traveling much earlier.
Either way, the Bears are undoubtedly preparing Theo Benedet to rejoin the lineup.
Benedet — a 2024 undrafted signing — made six starts at left tackle earlier in the season after the Bears benched Braxton Jones, but he also started in Wright’s place on the right side in Week 4 while the latter was dealing with an elbow injury. He gave up two sacks, no quarterback hits and 22 pressures in his 517 total snaps between the two roles.
While the Bears could more radically consider re-inserting Benedet at left tackle and instead flipping rookie Ozzy Trapilo to right tackle, it seems unlikely that they would risk disrupting Trapilo’s progress since taking over the blindside role in Week 12. He has allowed just two sacks and 13 pressures on his 425 offensive snaps as a rookie.
More likely, Benedet will get the nod if Wright does not suit up against the 49ers.
More Bears Starters on Injury Report for ‘SNF’ vs. 49ers
Unfortunately for the Bears, the illnesses are not the only thing threatening to deprive them of one of their starters in their Sunday Night Football showdown with the 49ers.
The Bears also have linebacker T.J. Edwards (glute) and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) — who has been their nickel defender in Kyler Gordon’s absence — on the injury report with questionable designations after limitations in practice this week.
Gardner-Johnson suffered his knee injury in Week 17’s overtime win over the Green Bay Packers and did not finish the game, but he participated in every practice ahead of the 49ers game, upgrading to full participation for December 26’s final practice.
Edwards, however, appears to have worse odds to play, having missed two practices with his new glute injury before upgrading to limited participation to end the week.
The Bears have also ruled rookie guard Luke Newman — whom they activated from the injured reserve list on December 27 — as questionable to play against the 49ers, while wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) has been ruled out for a fourth consecutive game.
Jordan J. Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports — high school, college and pro — for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson
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