The Bears defense will be getting a couple of players back in the fold for Friday’s game against the Eagles.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they will activate cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon from injured reserve. Both players have been full participants in practice this week.
Johnson missed the season opener with a groin injury and then went on injured reserve after playing in Week 2. He had surgery in September to address the issue.
Gordon also missed the start of the year with a hamstring injury before playing two games in October. Groin and calf injuries sent him back to the sideline, but he and Johnson will now be back to help the Bears’ push for an NFC North title.
The Eagles did not have receiver DeVonta Smith on the field for the second consecutive day.
Philadelphia added and illness designation for Smith on Wednesday and he did not practice. That came after he was listed as a non-participant with chest and shoulder injuries on Tuesday.
Smith, 27, has caught 55 passes for 754 yards with three touchdowns in 2025. He has not missed a game so far this season. Last week, he caught six passes for 89 yards in the loss to Dallas.
Running back Saquon Barkley (groin) remained limited on Wednesday’s report.
Offensive tackle Lane Johnson (foot), safety Andrew Mukuba (ankle), and receiver Xavier Gipson (shoulder) also did not participate.
Safety Reed Blankenship (thigh) and guard Landon Dickerson (knee) remained limited.
Defensive end Brandon Graham (groin) was upgraded to limited from DNP.
Offensive tackle Myles Hinton (back) and offensive lineman Willie Lampkin (knee/ankle) remained full participants.
The Bears could get cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson back for Friday’s game against the Eagles.
Gordon (calf) and Johnson (groin) remain on injured reserve, but both players were listed as full participants in practice on Wednesday. They had the same listing on Tuesday and could be activated in time to play this week.
The only change to the Bears injury report involved defensive lineman Gervon Dexter. He was added to the report as a limited participant due to a hand injury.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards (hand, hamstring), linebacker Ruben Hippolyte (shoulder), offensive lineman Luke Newman (foot), defensive lineman Dominique Robinson (concussion), linebacker Noah Sewell (elbow), and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) did not practice. Left tackle Theo Benedet (quad), running back Travis Homer (hamstring, knee), and running back Kyle Monangai (knee) were full participants.
The Eagles’ estimated practice report for Tuesday shows that wide receiver DeVonta Smith is dealing with a couple of injuries heading into their Black Friday game against the Bears.
Smith was listed as a non-participant due to shoulder and chest issues. The Eagles only held a walkthrough on Tuesday and will issue their injury designations for the week on Thursday.
Wide receiver Xavier Gipson (shoulder), defensive end Brandon Graham (groin), right tackle Lane Johnson (foot), and safety Andrew Mukuba (ankle) were also listed as out. Johnson and Mukuba are not expected to play this week.
Running back Saquon Barkley (groin) also landed on the report. He was listed as a limited participant along with safety Reed Blankenship (thigh) and left guard Landon Dickerson (knee). Tackle Myles Hinton (back), cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (gameday concussion protocol evaluation), and offensive lineman Willie Lampkin (knee, ankle) were listed as full participants.
It’s been 40 years since the 1985 Bears became a phenomenon. They added to the hype with a music video for the song The Super Bowl Shuffle.
A documentary regarding the making of the video, called The Shuffle, debuts tonight on HBO and HBO Max.
Here’s the song. One thing hasn’t changed over the past 40 years: It’s so bad, it’s kind of good.
As mentioned in The Shuffle, via Chris Vognar of the Boston Globe, running back Walter Payton and quarterback Jim McMahon didn’t show up for the video shoot, disagreeing with the idea of shooting the video the day after a Monday night loss in Miami. Their portions were shot later, and superimposed over the footage of the other players.
The song made it to No. 41 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Which may be more of an indictment regarding the quality of the other musical offerings of the day.
Indeed, the song was nominated for a Grammy. Let me repeat that. It was nominated for a Grammy, for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. (Prince & The Revolution won for Kiss.)
The Bears, obviously, backed up their presumptuous music video by getting to the Super Bowl and winning it.
