Three items about the Chicago Bears, such as Keenan Allen’s return to practice and Darnell Wright’s back ailment
The Chicago Bears returned to practice Wednesday at Halas Hall to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field.
Coach Matt Eberflus, quarterback Caleb Williams and other players spoke before practice. Here are three things we learned.
1. Right tackle Darnell Wright missed practice with a back injury.
Eberflus classified Wright as “day to day” and said the Bears are hopeful he will be ready to go Sunday. If not, they’re looking at all options to replace the 2023 No. 10 draft pick.
The Bears already have moving parts on the offensive line. Guard/center Ryan Bates is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. After right guard Nate Davis tweaked his groin injury last week, Matt Pryor started in his place in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Davis was active for the game but played only one snap.
“It was firm in the pocket and (Pryor) did a nice job blocking at times,” Eberflus said. “He had a couple plays that he wished he had back. But for the most part did a nice job there.”
The 6-foot-7, 332-pound Pyror has played in 78 games with 25 starts over six seasons with four teams. He’s also an option at swing tackle with Larry Borom on injured reserve, though Pryor said Wednesday he’s playing guard for now.
Pryor said it’s easier to slide from guard to tackle on one side rather than switch sides, and he thinks he can do it if needed this week. He once moved from right tackle to right guard at the last minute during the 2021 season with the Colts when a bunch of players came down with COVID-19, and he said it was fine.
“At guard you don’t have as much time to figure out what your defender is going to do,” Pryor said. “You’ve got to get on there quicker. As opposed to tackle, where you know you’re sitting a little bit deeper. You don’t have to worry about where the quarterback is as much, so you’ve got time to read your defender.”
The Bears also have rookie tackle Kiran Amegadjie available. Amegadjie, a third-round pick out of Yale, was active for the first time Sunday after nearly a year of recovery from quadriceps surgery but didn’t play.
“He’s continuing to improve,” Eberflus said. “He’s a guy that’s super smart in terms of the mentals, and the technique is improving every single week and we’re working hard to get him there.”
2. Wide receiver Keenan Allen returned to practice after missing two games.
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