It truly felt like nothing has gone right for the Chicago Bears since last Sunday in Tampa Bay. First, they lost in beatdown fashion 38-3, then they found out their head coach Matt Nagy has COVID. So he might not be available for this weekend. If that weren’t enough, word soon surfaced that star pass rusher Khalil Mack has played through a tough foot injury, and now the team will consider shutting him down at least this week and perhaps longer.
There hasn’t been much to feel optimistic about for this team going into a game that could well define their season. Thankfully they got some good news on Friday as the team reported both edge rusher Robert Quinn and right tackle Elijah Wilkinson are coming off the COVID list. This means both tested negative twice in a 24-hour span and should be ready to play on Sunday barring any other setbacks.
We have activated Robert Quinn & Elijah Wilkinson from the reserve/COVID-19 list.https://t.co/Zx7VAydJRg
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 29, 2021
The #Bears' potential starting edge rushers for Sunday's game against the #49ers. pic.twitter.com/1oIGlcijoD
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) October 29, 2021
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The timing of this can’t be overstated.
Quinn has arguably been the Chicago Bears’ best pass rusher this season, boasting 5.5 sacks going into last week before COVID put him on the shelf. He’s been almost unblockable at times. Having him and perhaps Akiem Hicks back as well should give the front enough juice to put some pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo at Soldier Field. A big necessity given the state of the offense for Chicago.
Speaking of the offense, the return of Wilkinson is also surprisingly welcome. He was hit with a positive test just hours before kickoff last Sunday. This forced the Bears to start former 7th round pick Lachavious Simmons in his place despite having zero practice reps at right tackle all week. It was a disaster as both Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul abused him. Wilkinson isn’t perfect but he’s far steadier than anybody else they have. The interesting question is whether the team might look to get rookie Larry Borom some playing time too. He recently returned from his high ankle sprain.
