Bears Get to Bye in Solid Health

D'Onta Foreman and Tyrique Stevenson injury status the only real issues facing Bears at the bye.

The most serious injury situations facing the Bears as they headed into a week off came not from Monday's game but from before it.

Running back D'Onta Foreman sat out with an ankle/shin injury while cornerback Tyrique Stevenson missed with an ankle/foot injury. Losing the starting cornerback so late in the week was a real issue going into the game.

"We'll see where it is with him," coach Matt Eberflus said. "He tweaked his foot on the turn. Made a really nice interception on the red zone 7-on-7 and he tweaked it. But we're hopeful. We feel pretty good about where he is."

Eberflus said this isn't a case where Stevenson will miss the rest of the season.

The cornerback situation will be closely watched because starter Jaylon Johnson will be a free agent. 

Stevenson's replacement in the game, rookie fifth-round pick Terell Smith, has impressed coaches throughout the season when healthy. He led the Bears in tackles on Monday with eight and Pro Football Focus has graded him at No. 36 among 120 cornerbacks they have graded over the course of the season, higher than any Bears cornerback except Jaylon Johnson.

"He made good tackles," Eberflus said. "I thought he was strong, the tackles. Of course, they're going to go after him. He's a rookie and he started."

For seven games and three starts this year, Johnson has an 89.9 passer rating against when targeted and 63% completions, according to Sportradar.

Interest should be high here because it looks like the Bears have three cornerbacks for two spots going forward. It's possible Johnson could even be a player they might think about not bringing back if they think they have star quality starters in both Smith and Stevenson. That would be a pretty big assumption which needs to be supported by fact before they go there, because Johnson is currently graded third in the league.

Beyond those injuries, Eberflus likes what he sees. Often teams go into bye weeks hoping to get numerous players healthy but the Bears had their rash of injuries much earlier.

"The health of the team is good," Eberflus said.

Guard Teven Jenkins is apparently healthy after a brief scare in the game when a Vikings defensive player landed on his uppper back. He left and mmissed seven plays in the game but resumed playing in the second half and finished.

"I don't think there was anything there," Eberflus said. "I asked the medical guys afterward and I don't have any clarity on that right now.

"I asked him, 'Is he OK?' and he said, 'Yeah, he's good.' So that's all I got."

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