Practice squad elevations give the Bears a confidence boost regarding injury concerns on both sides of the ball ahead of kickoff vs. Vikings
A telling sign for the Week 1 lineup.
The Chicago Bears have made some last minute roster adjustments before getting set for kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings later tonight.
Multiple team reporters shared that linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon were elevated from the practice squad and onto the gameday roster.
Teams are allowed to elevate two players per week from the practice squad, with a three game elevation limit per player each season.
Week 1 elevation is a telling sign when it comes to the Bears’ Week 1 injury report
The decision to call up Jones and Kpassagnon is a good sign for the Bears when it comes to the injuries the team has been dealing with on both sides of the ball.
Running back Brittain Brown was an expected name many thought would be elevated based on head coach Ben Johnson’s latest comments and the injuries the position has been dealing with over the last few weeks.
“We have Brittain Brown, who came on late in training camp, but we were really impressed with what he did in practice and what he put on tape,” Johnson explained on Saturday. “So, we have no problem giving him the ball in games.”
Instead, Brown was not called up. What does that mean for the rest of the running back room? The big concern was with Roschon Johnson, who suffered a foot injury in practice back in early August. The team’s head coach noted he’s “hopeful Roschon will come back soon” but that doesn’t necessarily mean Johnson will be active tonight. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai is another player who was dealing with an injury the last few days, but was not listed with a designation going into the weekend.
The other good news is that the team did not elevate a cornerback such as Tre Flowers. Going into Monday night’s game, the Bears had two starting cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon listed as questionable and it wasn’t trending in the right direction for either player.
Not elevating a practice squad player for depth is a nice confidence boost for Johnson and Gordon’s status, but we’ll see how things look during pregame warmups and what the final inactive decision is.
As for the players who were called up, Jones offers the team some depth at linebacker and on special teams with starting linebacker T.J. Edwards being listed as doubtful on the final injury report. Rookie Ruben Hyppolite II is expected to play in place of Edwards if he can’t go.
As for Kpassagnon, the Bears were really hurting in terms of depth off the edge after placing Austin Booker on the injured reserve, leaving three players total at the position. Kpassagnon has familiarity in the system and could be a player who mixes in on the defensive front.
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