Another gutsy performance from one Bears starter might have been overlooked after Week 17 and it should be appreciated more
Darnell Wright continues to do whatever it takes to be out there for the Bears.
The Chicago Bears had a major concern going into Week 17’s game against the San Francisco 49ers when an illness began spreading around the locker room throughout the week.
Five players in total were on the injury report going into the weekend and before kickoff, three more players got added to the report after experiencing similar symptoms. By the time inactives were announced, only two players were actually ruled out in wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and cornerback Nick McCloud.
The craziest story involved right tackle Darnell Wright.
Ben Johnson and Darnell Wright share how his last-minute arrival to San Francisco came to be
On Saturday, before boarding the flight to San Francisco, the Bears added Wright to the injury report and revealed he was not expected to travel with the rest of the team. Yet, the Bears still listed the team’s starting right tackle as questionable for the game.
On Sunday morning, Wright noted he rose from the depths at 4:00 a.m. and was determined to play in that game a few hours later. So, Wright and a Bears trainer hopped on a private jet chartered by the team and made their way to Levi’s Stadium in time for kickoff.
“He was excited,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said of Wright. “He came in this morning and he had a big smile on his face. ‘You can’t hold me back from this one,’ he said. So that was good to see.”
A few weeks back, quarterback Caleb Williams referred to his offensive line as The Avengers. Wright’s arrival in San Francisco ahead of the impending battle felt just like the final portal scene in Avengers Endgame when the fallen heroes returned for the final battle against Thanos and his army. And the same goes for wide receiver DJ Moore, who was added to the report on Sunday but managed to play through the illness as well.
“I knew I wasn’t going to feel good,” Wright told reporters in the locker room. “It’s just a matter of like, logistically, can I play as far as the fever and how hot your body is running?”
Wright ended up playing 100% of the team’s offensive snaps and had the highest offensive grade on the team in a game in which he allowed zero sacks and zero pressures. It was true grit from the team’s former first-round selection, who’s also been playing the majority of the season with a torn UCL in his elbow.
He’s a true super hero for this team and what he’s been going through in 2025 hasn’t been appreciated enough outside the building.
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