One Word From DJ Moore After Thursday Practice Confirms He’s Ready to Take on Vikings in Week 11. DH
The Chicago Bears reached the halfway point of the season after playing their ninth game of the season last Sunday, and the wear and tear is starting to pile up with some players.
On Wednesday, Chicago listed 13 players on the first injury report of the week, which isn’t out of the ordinary to start the week, given what we’ve seen over the last few weeks. The Bears typically use Wednesday as a rest day for select veterans and begin getting players back on the field on Thursday.
Such has been the case with wide receiver DJ Moore, who’s been nursing a hip and groin issue for much of the season. Last week, against the New York Giants, Moore suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to briefly leave the game, adding another issue to work through.
After not practicing on Wednesday, there was a thought that the Bears could give Moore a week off to rest and heal up after having a third injury to worry about, similar to what the team did with running back D’Andre Swift in Week 8. But Moore had a one-word reaffirmation about his status for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
“Duh,” Moore told reporters in the locker room when asked if he would play on Sunday.
Simple as that, the iron-man streak in Chicago will continue for the veteran wide receiver, and the toughness he’s shown this season isn’t going unnoticed either.
“DJ has done a great job of playing through things,” Bears’ offensive coordinator Declan Doyle explained in late October. “He just keeps coming back. A lot of times, you can have a receiver on your team, or a player, that may be higher paid that has a different attitude toward things. He does not. He is one of us, and I love the way he competes. I love the way he battles through those things. It’s appreciated by all of us, his effort to be out there and fighting with his guys.”
Other takeaways from Thursday’s injury report for the Bears
The main takeaway on Thursday was that defensive end Dominique Robinson was upgraded to a full participant after being limited on Wednesday. Robinson suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 8 and was forced to miss the previous two games. Having Robinson back in the rotation with Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and recently acquired Joe Tryon-Shoyinka gives Chicago four experienced players working off the edge.
The big concern now is with linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety Jaquan Brisker. Edwards is still dealing with a hamstring injury along with a broken hand after missing last week’s game. Brisker was added to the injury report this week with a back injury and has yet to participate in practice.
Everything considered, the Bears are in a decent spot health-wise after Thursday’s practice and hopefully can get some good news on Friday with Edwards and Brisker, if not, it’s the next man up approach for Sunday’s game.
