Earlier today, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that at some point, they’d have to give running back D’Andre Swift a week off to get his body right. Swift has been playing through a groin injury while racking up 277 yards the last three weeks, and while he wants to play on Sunday, Johnson said, “Sometimes you have to protect the player from himself.”
With the injury report now official, Swift is one of four players the Bears have ruled out for this week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Also out on Sunday will be running back Roschon Johnson (back), wide receiver Luther Burden III (concussion), and defensive end Dominique Robinson (ankle).
With two tailbacks out, look for Brittain Brown to be elevated from the practice squad to suit up alongside Kyle Monangai and Travis Homer. Chicago will likely announce final roster tweaks on Saturday.
The Bears also list linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (knee) as questionable; however, he’s been a full participant all week, and he’s still in his 21-day practice window while on injured reserve. If they activate Ogbongbemiga, they’d need to release a player off the 53-man roster to accommodate the transaction.
The good news for Chicago is that all their other injured players this week — Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Tyrique Stevenson — carry no injury designation for the game.
The Bengals list Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip), linebacker Logan Wilson (calf), and cornerback Marco Wilson (hamstring) as doubtful, as all were non-participants in practice all week.
The Bengals list three players as questionable: linebacker Own Burks (groin), offensive lineman Dalton Risner (illness), and starting quarterback Joe Flacco (shoulder). Flacco only practiced once this week, being limited on Thursday, but he said he “feels good” about playing on Sunday. He also said they’ll have to wait and see how his shoulder reacts and feels this weekend. Cincinnati would start Jake Browning if Flacco can’t play, and they also activated quarterback Sean Clifford off their practice squad to their active roster.
