The Chicago Bears have multiple injury concerns on both sides of the ball going into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons that will really test the depth on this roster.

Even beyond Sunday’s game, the Bears also will have a short turnaround before facing the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football next week.

There’s going to be a lot of moving parts to monitor over the next few weeks and we won’t get much information today considering the team is holding a walk-through practice with an estimated injury report. However, head coach Ben Johnson provided some much-needed updates on the various injury situations ahead of practice.

Caleb Williams is progressing well, but his status is still fluid for Week 6

First and foremost, the biggest situation to monitor on the injury front is whether or not quarterback Caleb Williams will be able to make his return after missing the last three games with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Johnson noted on Monday that Williams is progressing well in his recovery and the outside consensus is that Williams is pushing to make his return on Sunday in Atlanta.

However, how he handles the week of practice will ultimately determine that decision. Williams was a limited participant last Friday, went through an exhaustive 30-minute throwing session on Sunday, and is expected to be a full participant during Wednesday’s walk-through. We’ll see how things continue to look for him on Thursday and Friday.

“It’s still fluid,” Johnson told reporters about Williams’ status. “But, I feel good about the plan we have in place at this point.”

If that plan involves Williams not playing on Sunday with the tight turnaround after the game, the decision of who starts between Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum will be just as critical. And more goes into it than what we saw during last Sunday’s game.

“Health is the number one priority for all three guys,” Johnson added. “I don’t know that any of them are exactly 100 percent at this point of the season. That’s something that we certainly look at. We want whoever’s out there to have a good rapport with the offensive line, with the operation, with our pass catchers.”

T.J. Edwards and Tyrique Stevenson both dealing with hamstring injuries, but Edwards is the one to watch

On Sunday, starting linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson each left the game with a hamstring injuries and there is some concern with Edwards’ situation. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted that Edwards’ injury was a reaggravation of the hamstring injury he had earlier in the year and it could be situation the Bears take more caution with moving forward.

As for Stevenson, he’s been in and out of the lineup all season dealing with hamstring issues, but his current situation doesn’t sound as severe as Edwards’ situation does.

“Tyrique will be more day-to-day and T.J. is more week-to-week,” Johnson noted.

Edwards is a potential IR candidate to watch, if the Bears want to go that route and make sure he’s fully healthy at the expense of shutting him down for four games. It’s worth noting the Bears have strong depth at linebacker with Devin Bush, D’Marco Jackson, Noah Sewell, and Jack Sanborn as veteran options.

Kyler Gordon might be another week from returning to action

The Bears activated another player off the PUP earlier this week in second-year defensive lineman Shemar Turner, using the last available roster spot in the process. As things currently stand, the Bears don’t have an open roster spot to use to activate slot cornerback Kyler Gordon, who has been a full participant since having his practice window opened on Sept. 30.

The Bears have until next Thursday to activate Gordon from the PUP. If he’s not activated by the point, the team would have to place him on the season-ending injured reserve. Johnson noted on Monday that mentally Gordon is ready to play, it’s just a matter of passing the physical stress-test before returning. And again, a corresponding move would have to be made.

“We’re considering all options,” Johnson said. “Our intent with Kyler from the get-go was to make it through these 21 days to make sure that he’s physically where he needs to be to help this football team.”

Dayo Odeyingbo avoided long-term injury, but isn’t expected to play Sunday for a short-handed pass rush

The last major injury to note is with defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo, who left Sunday’s game with a quad injury. The good news is that Odeyingbo avoided a long-term injury. But the bad news is that he isn’t expected to play on Sunday.

“Unknown quite yet how long he could potentially be out,” Johnson explained. “We don’t feel like it’s serious enough to warrant IR and yet it is likely he’ll miss some time here.”

Odeyingbo isn’t the only starting pass rusher the Bears will be without in the short-term. Montez Sweat was also suspended for two games without pay on Tuesday, leaving the Bears very short-handed off the edge. The top options right now include Austin Booker, who has struggled with consistency, Shemar Turner, who just got activated off the PUP this week and has limited experienced, and then depth guys such as James Lynch, Daniel Hardy, and Jamree Kromah.

“The good news is, we have really planned for this,” Johnson said. “We’ve got some guys on the active roster that haven’t even been active yet – some defensive linemen that we feel strongly about and what they did during training camp. This might be their opportunity as well.”

It’ll be a big opportunity and an even bigger test going up against a Falcons offense that features one of the league’s most dangerous weapons in running back Bijan Robinson. If those players can’t step up, the Bears would have to consider making a more impactful move.