Bears to Take Start from Tyrique Stevenson Per Report

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson will not start against the Arizona Cardinals as a result of his actions on the Hail Mary pass.

Tyrique Stevenson was the opening-day hero after he didn't start the game and now he'll reportedly miss a start vs. Arizona. / David Banks-Imagn Images

The ramifications from last week's Hail Mary debacle against Washington did cost Tyrique Stevenson a start in Sunday's game with the Arizona Cardinals.

Whether that also cost the Bears a second defeat is up to how they adjust with another member of their secondary on the sidelines.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Sunday Stevenson will be on the bench and Terell Smith will make his sixth career start. The Tribune's Dan Wiederer had reported earlier everything was trending this way.

#Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson won’t start today vs the #AZCardinals, sources say, a disciplinary action following last week’s Hail Mary. The hope is he learns from this, as teammates and coaches have backed him.

My story: https://t.co/XJecKQXL0Jhttps://t.co/XJecKQXL0J

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 3, 2024

The bottom line for the Bears is they'll be without a big chunk of their secondary again, possibly two of the five starters or even three.

Jaquan Brisker is out with a concussion still. It's possible slot cornerback Kyler Gordon is back this week from a hamstring injury.

Terell Smith rotated with Stevenson again this week before even the penalty late. Terry gaps him here but Darrell Taylor forces a pressure so at the time of the throw it looks more backshoulder-y. Incomplete. pic.twitter.com/zigVkw2bJT

— Mike Faltas (@mfaltas_) November 1, 2024

However, he had not practiced since suffering the injury Oct. 13 in London against Jacksonville and then did on Friday as a limited participant. So he'll go into this game with little actual practice participation on a week when they all had one less day of practice because Matt Eberflus decided on a walk-through Wednesday due to having too many offensive line injuries.

The report by Rapoport does not mention the extent of the penalty, whether this means Stevenson will be inactive or simply will not start. Stevenson was slated to start the opener this year but did not, although he came in later to play almost all of the game. Eberflus would not address why that happened on Friday when asked about it.

Stevenson said he was cheering with Bears fans with the Hail Mary pass started and had his back to the play. Then he rushed over to the scrum in front of the goal line trying to tip the ball when his duty on th play was to cover the back player in the end zone. He tipped the ball backward directly to the player he was supposed to cover, Noah Brown, and the catch resulted in a Washington win.

The injuries in the secondary began for the Bears in their game with Carolina Oct. 6, as Brisker suffered his third concussion in three years. He remains out and Elijah Hicks will play his safety position again Sunday.

"It's really just about the symptom part of it," Eberflus said. "That's really what it is. Again, he's made progress. He's got into the meetings, he's got into the walkthrough and got into those things and then has those symptoms.

"Again, it's always gonna be about his safety and his health and where he is. Jaquan brings a lot of passion and energy to our team and certainly to our defense. He was having a really good year leading up to this. His health and safety is first and we want to make sure that we do a good job with that first. And then he'll bring back that passion and energy back like he always does."

Even with all of the injuries in their secondary, the Bears continue to lead the NFL in passer rating against at 76.2, just ahead of Detroit (77.2). They also are No. 1 in red zone touchdown percentage allowed and fewest points allowed within the red zone. Until the Hail Mary pass, they had allowed only four field goals to the hottest offense in the NFL and did it with their leading pass rusher, Montez Sweat, able to play only half of the snaps in the game due to a shin injury.

Throughout the past weeks, players remained supportive of Stevenson and expressed empathy.  

"At the end of the day he feels already in a terrible position, so there is not too much to say," cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. "Just got to come out here. We do have a lot to say. We got to build up. Tell him he's still going to play.

"At the end of the day we got to continue to get him in the right direction and bring him along so we can win these games."

In case they need extra help in the secondary, they've elevated rookie Reddy Steward from the practice squad for this game.

Twitter: BearsOnSI