Concussions Hit Bears DBs
The injury to Justin Fields wasn't the only injury suffered by the Bears against the Atlanta Falcons.
Simply put, they got physically beaten in a tough game as starting safety Jaquan Brisker, starting slot cornerback Kyler Gordon and special teams player Sterling Weatherford all suffered concussion and went into the NFL concussion protocol.
All three players missed Wednesday's practice, leaving them shorthanded particularly in the secondary.
There was good news for the Bears on the injury report as guard Teven Jenkins returned form a hip injury for a full practice, as did safety Dane Cruikshank, who missed last week with a hamstring injury.
Losing both Brisker and Gordon would be a huge blow. Brisker was coming off his biggest tackling game of the year with 11. Either DeAndre Houston-Carson, Elijah Hicks or Cruikshank would replace him.
Gordon's role as slot cornerback is invaluable and they would need to bring in Lamar Jackson or another reserve defense back to take his spot. Gordon was also coming off a stronger game, with seven tackles and his first tackle for loss since the opener.
The Jets were missing defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (elbow) and tight end Kenny Yeboah (calf), while tackle Duane Brown (shoulder), cornerback Ahmad Gardner (calf), guard Nate Herbig (shin) and linebacker Quincy Williams (ankle) practiced only on a limited basis. Wide receiver Corey Davis, who has a knee injury, was able to go through a full practice.
The biggest Jets news had nothing to do with an injury but with starting quarterback. They'll start backup/third-stringer Mike White instead of Zach Wilson, who seemed unconcerned with his leadership role after last week's loss.
It presents a different challenge than Wilson.
"They're still going to run their offense but there is a little bit of a different style there with those two quarterbacks for sure," coach Matt Eberflus said.
White is more of a pocket passer than Wilson. White is 6-foot-4, 218 pounds and has five career rushes for minus-1 yard in four total games played. Wilson has run 53 times for 279 yards in two seasons.
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