Things already looked bad for the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Jaylon Johnson has been out most of the season with groin and core problems. Now, Tyrique Stevenson looked on track to miss Sunday’s game in Baltimore with a shoulder injury he suffered against New Orleans. Being down your top two cornerbacks is almost as bad as it gets. Well, apparently, we spoke too soon. Stevenson is indeed out for Sunday. The Bears’ Friday injury report confirmed it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. An unexpected name will join him.

Kyler Gordon.

The nickel corner popped up on the report Thursday with groin and calf designations, but was limited in practice. That changed on Friday when he didn’t participate at all. He is out for the game, meaning the Bears will be down all three of their starting cornerbacks. This will be the fifth game Gordon won’t play this season, having missed the first month with a hamstring problem. To date, the former 2nd round pick has never played a full season in his NFL career, raising legitimate questions about his status on this team.

Serious discussions must be had by Chicago Bears about Gordon.

The Bears signed him to a hefty three-year contract extension worth $40 million. They believe he’s one of the best nickel corners in the NFL. That is true…when he’s on the field. The best ability is availability. Poles himself said that. There was already evidence that Gordon had problems staying healthy, dating back to his rookie season. Chicago chose to gamble that he could navigate through them. Instead, they seem to have hit overdrive after getting his payday. What’s worse is that they’ve all been soft tissue injuries.

Hamstring.

Calf.

Groin.

Gordon either doesn’t stretch at all or has muscles made of wet napkins. Either way, it consistently hurts the Chicago Bears’ chances of winning every Sunday. It might be getting close to time for the team to consider finding insurance, either via the trade market this year or the draft in 2026.

The Chicago Bears released their final injury report ahead of Sunday’s road matchup against the Baltimore Ravens — and it’s a brutal one. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will have his hands full as the Bears will be without several key starters on both sides of the ball, including four of their top cornerbacks.

Injury Report Overview

Here’s the full rundown from Friday’s injury report:

Defensive Concerns

The biggest headline is the cornerback crisis. The Bears will be without Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson, both ruled out with soft-tissue injuries. With Jaylon Johnson already on IR, and Nahshon Wright still nursing a hip issue despite being cleared, Allen will be forced to dig deep into the depth chart. Expect a heavy rotation of backups against a Baltimore offense likely led by Lamar Jackson as he was a full participant on Friday.

Offensive Setbacks

On offense, Chicago will also be missing important contributors. Braxton Jones (knee) and Cole Kmet (back) are both out. Roschon Johnson’s absence means D’Andre Swift — who’s dealing with a groin injury and listed as questionable — could be a game-time decision. If Swift can’t go, get ready for a heavy dose of rookie RB Kyle Monangai who looked great last week.

Simply put, this is one of the most injury-depleted rosters the Bears have fielded all season — and the timing couldn’t be worse. Facing a desperate 1-5 Ravens team on the road with Lamar Jackson likely back, Allen’s defense will need to play nearly perfect football to give Chicago a fighting chance. Otherwise it might fall on Caleb Williams and the offense to win a shootout.

The Chicago Bears released footage of Ben Johnson mic’d up during the big win over the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. What stood out from it was how incredibly unemotional he was. Regardless of the situation, be it a touchdown or a turnover, his facial expression never changed. They talk about good coaches being the ones who can handle the highs and lows. Johnson appears to have that quality. Also included were clips of him calling plays. During one brief sequence, the head coach sent one out that caught people by surprise.

It was called George McCaskey.

It isn’t uncommon for coaches to have plays named after certain people, places, or things. Everybody remembers Johnson’s “Stumblebum” trick play that caught the Bears off guard for a touchdown last year. Still, having one for the team’s owner is certainly interesting. People grew curious about what the play was. Johnson was finally asked about it on Friday. His answer was fitting.

With 9:49 left in the 2nd quarter, Chicago faced 3rd and 2. The play was a classic outside power run by Roschon Johnson that went for 11 yards. It was a call that would’ve made McCaskey’s grandfather, George Halas, proud. The Bears scored on the next play to go up 13-0.

Ben Johnson gave a nod to Bears history with that one.

Halas built his Hall of Fame legacy on playing tough, physical football. That meant running the ball with power. It began with Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski, then shifted to George McAfee, Rick Casares, and Gale Sayers, before culminating in Walter Payton. Few head coaches have a deeper appreciation for old-school football than Ben Johnson, which might be surprising given his innovative offensive mind. He believes in marrying traditional styles with a new-wave approach. The “George McCaskey” was a taste of classic Bears football, the way its namesake would’ve loved.

It’s father fitting it wasn’t named after a trick play, as is usually the tradition. Chicago isn’t normally known for such things. They’re at their best playing in-your-face football. That play was a perfect example. Here’s hoping Johnson has a few more fun ones cooked up for the coming weeks.

The Chicago Bears haven’t given anything away regarding the trade deadline. That means one of two things. Either they aren’t planning any moves, or they’ve managed to keep any such plans a careful secret. GM Ryan Poles has hatched surprises before. Still, nobody is sure what to expect. However, one thing is clear. If they do make a move, it will likely be on the pass rusher market. The Bears have struggled getting to the quarterback this season. Dayo Odeyingbo hasn’t solved their problems as hoped, and Austin Booker still hasn’t returned from his knee injury.

It would be great if they could land a stud like Maxx Crosby, but the more probable outcome is they add some rotational depth who might give them extra juice. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN dropped an interesting name fans may not have expected.

Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Atlanta Falcons
The buzz: Ebiketie has had trade interest dating back to the offseason. The 2022 second-round pick is on an expiring contract, and rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker are a big part of Atlanta’s future at edge rusher. The Falcons don’t necessarily want to trade Ebiketie but typically at least listen to offers when presented. — Fowler

The tape: At 6-2 and 250 pounds, Ebiketie fits the profile of a 3-4 edge rusher who can be schemed in sub-package sets. Ebiketie is a linear mover with short-area speed and the hand usage to set up blockers. Defenses could use Ebiketie as a nickel rusher. He doesn’t have a sack yet in 2025, but he had exactly six in each of the past two seasons. — Bowen

Predicted chance of getting traded: 25%
Team fits: Chicago Bears

Ebiketie was a consistently productive player for Atlanta over the past two seasons, collecting six sacks and 12 QB hits in 2023 and 2024. However, the team’s large infusion of high draft picks to the mix has limited the 26-year-old’s playing time. A fresh start elsewhere might be best for all parties.

Ebiketie can offer something the Chicago Bears currently lack.

That is speed. They have plenty of size and power with Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat. Booker was supposed to balance the scale with his speed and explosiveness until he got hurt. Ebiketie can threaten the edge with his first step and displays quickness that makes tackles nervous. It would give much-needed variety to the Chicago Bears’ pass rush. The question is whether defensive coordinator Dennis Allen would be on board with it. His track record suggests that he doesn’t usually like undersized defensive linemen, often preferring those who are 6’5″ or taller and weigh 270 pounds or more. The only exceptions were Von Miller and Khalil Mack, and that was because both were clear game wreckers regardless of their size. Such is not the case with Ebiketie.

Allen would have to utilize him in specific ways, often strictly in pass rush situations. It can work, but that depends on if the Bears think they can help the struggling defender rediscover is old form.

The Chicago Bears were averaging 74 yards per carry before the bye week. Their run game was stuck in the mud, unable to find a rhythm or any sense of identity. Head coach Ben Johnson made it clear that his mission during the break was to identify the problem. He succeeded. In the two games since the bye, Chicago is averaging 183 yards per carry. That is more than double what they were producing just a few weeks ago. It is one of the most insane in-season turnarounds the Bears have pulled off in at least a decade.

Multiple factors went into this. It started by replacing left tackle Braxton Jones with Theo Benedet. His power and tenacity have made an immediate impact on the ground. Next was a shift in philosophy. The Bears have made a greater emphasis on attacking the edges, using the athleticism of their line to full effect. Stacey Dales of NFL Network found out something else Johnson did. He used a somewhat novel way of watching film to determine how physical the line was being. It goes a long way in explaining the Bears’ ability to suddenly dominate the line of scrimmage.

Ben Johnson continues to push a mindset for the Bears.

One of the constant complaints about Matt Eberflus during his time as head coach was the lack of an identity on offense. People never knew what he wanted this team to be. It felt like Eberflus didn’t either. He was almost content going with whatever work, not understanding that this isn’t how top offenses function. Every group has something it expects to do well. For some, it’s running the ball. For others, it’s passing. Ben Johnson has made it crystal clear from the beginning that he expects to control the game on the ground. That isn’t something the Bears had done in a long time. It seems to have taken a few weeks for players to fully grasp the mentality he wants. Once it finally clicked, everything fell into place.

The first step in running the ball effectively is the physicality of the offensive line. Once Johnson had a good understanding of where things were, he made adjustments. Each of the past two opponents got 60 minutes of that abuse. Don’t expect it to let up.

If you listened to people watching the beginning of the Chicago Bears training camp, the comments were mostly the same. Rookie 2nd round pick Ozzy Trapilo looked like the favorite in the left tackle competition. Braxton Jones still didn’t look 100% from his season-ending injury last year. Kiran Amegadjie suffered one of his own early in camp. Trapilo seemed calm, composed, and solid. However, everything changed after the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins. Trapilo was suddenly removed from the competition altogether. Theo Benedet took his place, battling Jones for the job the rest of August.

Since then, the Bears haven’t provided a clear answer on what happened. All they’ve said is they felt Trapilo’s progress had slowed. Rather than let him fight it out the rest of camp, they relegated him back to right tackle, opening the door for Benedet. Finally, after almost two months, we got some details. Dan Wiederer of The Athletic spoke to offensive line coach Dan Roushar about the rookie tackle. He laid out the details of what had happened and why the team felt it was best to return him to his original position.

“Down deep, I think there was a comfort factor missing,” Roushar said. “And I think in the transition from college to the NFL, fundamentally, he had started to lose himself a little. With that, sometimes you become very reactionary rather than action-oriented — to your set spot, to throwing your hands, to striking. Those things started to dissipate.

“As it continued to go that way, we thought the best thing for him was to reset his mind, bring him back to the right side and see growth.”

Ozzy Trapilo wasn’t ready. This is hardly uncommon.

When you play most of your football career at one specific position, it becomes ingrained in your DNA. That is why when many plays are asked to uproot from all of that, it can be jarring. You slowly lose confidence in your ability because everything is unfamiliar to you. It sounds like that is what happened with Ozzy Trapilo. Rather than forge ahead, hoping he eventually gets it, the Bears opted to reverse course and keep him where he was comfortable.

It seems like the right decision. Benedet has become a quality addition to the starting lineup at left tackle, while Trapilo filled in nicely for an injured Darnell Wright in Las Vegas. Having high-quality depth is never a bad thing. Unfortunately, some Bears fans are frustrated because the team spent a 2nd round pick on Trapilo. That is supposed to be reserved for players who become starters. Wright isn’t losing his spot anytime soon, which means Trapilo will either have to give left tackle another try. Otherwise, he’s stuck on the bench.