Bears wide receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden (ankle) missed a second consecutive day of practice.
That has their availability for Saturday’s game against the Packers in question.
Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemia (hamstring) was the only other player out of Wednesday’s session.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin) had a limited practice. The Bears listed him as limited in Tuesday’s walk-through, too.
The Bears designated Edmunds to return from injured reserve on Tuesday after he missed the past four games with his injury.
The Bears added running back D’Andre Swift to the injury report with a groin injury. He was limited.
Defensive lineman Andrew Billings (illness) returned to full participation after missing Tuesday, and running back Travis Homer (ankle) also fully practiced after estimated as limited a day earlier.
Tight end Cole Kmet (ankle/knee) remained limited.
Packers Clips
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday that he wasn’t sure if wide receiver Christian Watson will be able to play against the Bears on Sunday and Wednesday brought some good news about the wideout’s condition.
LaFleur told reporters that Watson is expected to take part in practice on a limited basis. Watson is listed with chest and shoulder injuries that he suffered while trying to catch a pass in the third quarter of last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
LaFleur said that defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (foot) and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) are also due back on the field.
The Packers will issue their injury designations for Saturdays game after practice on Thursday.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said in his Tuesday press conference that the team would have a significant number of players on their injury report later in the day and that proved to be correct.
Nine players were estimated to be non-participants. That number includes edge rusher Micah Parsons, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Running back Josh Jacobs (knee) was listed as out with an injury he’s been dealing with for several weeks. Jacobs was questionable to play in Week 15, but scored two touchdowns in the loss to the Broncos.
Wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (foot), wide receiver Christian Watson (chest, shoulder), right tackle Zach Tom (knee), safety Evan Williams (knee), running back MarShawn Lloyd (calf, hamstring), and tight end Josh Whyle (concussion) were also listed as out. LaFleur said the team will make decisions on Watson, Tom and Williams closer to Saturday’s game against the Bears.
Running back Chris Brooks (chest), offensive lineman Darian Kinnard (neck), defensive lineman Colin Oliver (hamstring), and wide receiver Savion Williams (foot) were listed as limited participants. Defensive lineman Brenton Cox (groin), wide receiver Matthew Golden (wrist), and quarterback Jordan Love (left shoulder) were listed as full participants.
The Bears listed two of their top wideouts as non-participants on Tuesday’s estimated practice report.
Luther Burden (ankle) and Rome Odunze (foot) would not have practiced. Burden was injured in last Sunday’s win over the Browns while Odunze aggravated an injury in pregame warmups.
Burden had a season-high six catches before his injury. The rookie has 36 catches for 479 yards and a touchdown on the season. Odunze has now missed the last two games, but still leads the team with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns this year.
Defensive lineman Andrew Billings (illness) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (hamstring) were also listed as out. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin), running back Travis Homer (ankle), and tight end Cole Kmet (ankle, knee) were listed as limited. Quarterback Tyson Bagent (illness) was listed as a full participant.
It looks like the Packers will not have running back Marshawn Lloyd return this season.
Head coach Matt LaFleur strongly hinted in his Tuesday press conference that Lloyd will be sidelined for the rest of 2025. In his second season, Lloyd had been practicing in his return from injured reserve for a calf issue before he was then sidelined on Friday with a hamstring injury.
“It’s one of those things that’s very, very, very unfortunate, because this guy has worked his ass off to battle back and to be in that spot again, what do you say to him?” LaFleur said Tuesday, via Zach Kruse of USA Today. “We’ll continue to investigate and try to figure out why this keeps occurring, but it’s certainly unfortunate. I feel bad, I really do, I feel extremely bad for MarShawn.”
After suffering multiple soft-tissue injuries and needing an appendectomy as a rookie in 2024, Lloyd suffered a calf injury during training camp. His 21-day practice window was opened and he was a limited participant in practice before the club then added a hamstring injury designation for him last Friday when he didn’t participate.
LaFleur did not explicitly rule out Lloyd being activated, but effectively noted that would be the case.
“I’m not going to say no, but I think you can use deductive reasoning on that one,” LaFleur said.
Lloyd has only been able to appear in one game since the Packers selected him in the third round of last year’s draft.
The Packers know they won’t have edge rusher Micah Parsons in Chicago on Saturday night and they have several other injured players to monitor heading into their divisional clash with the Bears.
Wide receiver Christian Watson is on that list. Watson left last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos with a chest injury and went to the hospital for evaluation before traveling home with the team. On Tuesday, head coach Matt LaFleur said he’s “not quite sure” about Watson’s status and will give him as much time as possible before determining if he’ll play this week.
“The pain’s a big part of it, but functionality — he’s gotta prove that throughout the course of the week,” LaFleur said.
Right tackle Zach Tom and safety Evan Williams both suffered knee injuries against the Broncos and LaFleur said “every one of these guys is going to be fighting to make it by game time.”
The NFL’s offseason and preseason featured an ugly and contentious confrontation between Cowboys owner/G.M. Jerry Jones and former Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. The situation ended in the shocking trade to the Packers, and the sniping from both men continued for weeks thereafter.
With Parsons suffering a season-ending ACL tear on Sunday, Jones has opted to be far more charitable in his expression of sympathy than at least one other high-profile person has opted to be this week regarding an unrelated tragedy.
“I’m sad for Micah,” Jones said Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “That’s quite a challenge. I wish him the very best on his recovery. Michael Irvin said when he had his [ACL] surgery during, I think, his second year with the Cowboys, he said he realized what football really did mean to him. And he said the surgery really launched him into the best part of his career, because he got to feel what it might look like not to play again. There’s a lot of ways you can couch this thing. But, Micah, I wish you the very best.”
Whether Jerry truly means it doesn’t matter. He said it. At a time when some folks can’t even muster the ability to suppress their own personally-held poisonous beliefs, it’s nice to see someone choose to say the right and honorable thing.
Two teams have clinched spots in the playoffs and that number could start going up on Thursday night.
If the Seahawks beat the Rams at home, they will join the Rams in the NFC bracket. They would also take over first place in the NFC West and the top spot in the conference with two games left to play.
The Seahawks will also get into the dance if the Lions lose to the Steelers on Sunday. A Lions loss would also punch the ticket for the winner of Saturday’s game between the Packers and Bears in Chicago and it would give the 49ers a spot regardless of how they fare against the Colts on Monday night. Both the Packers and Bears will get in if they tie and the Lions lose.
The 49ers won’t need any help from the Lions if they beat the Colts.
The Eagles will clinch the NFC East with a win over the Commanders on Saturday or a Cowboys loss to the Chargers on Sunday.
The Broncos are the only other team with the ability to wrap up a division title this weekend. They’ve already clinched a playoff spot and will take the AFC West if they beat the Jaguars while the Chargers lose. Getting those results as well as a Bills loss and a Patriots loss will make the Broncos the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The Patriots will clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Ravens. They also get in with a Colts loss to the 49ers or a Texans loss to the Raiders.
The Bills, Chargers, and Jaguars can all book their spots in the postseason by winning and getting a loss by either of those AFC South teams. The Bills will be in Cleveland on Sunday.
As the Packers believed in the aftermath of the non-contact injury, linebacker Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s game against the Broncos.
Parsons has posted a message on social media regarding the development.
“I may be sidelined, but I am not defeated,” Parsons said on Twitter. “This injury is my greatest test — a moment God allowed to strengthen my testimony. I believe He walks with me through this storm and chose me for this fight because He knew my heart could carry it. I’m deeply grateful to the Packers organization and my teammates for their unwavering support, love, and belief in me during this season. I trust His timing, His plan, and His purpose. I will rise again.”
The road is never easy for a player who has suffered a torn ACL. It begins with surgery and recovery. It continues with a rigorous rehab process. It requires work, patience, and determination.
Parsons is embracing the challenge. And he’ll surely do everything in his power to be back for 2026.
The injury also underscores the importance of high-level players to insist on contracts that shift the injury risk to the team. If Parsons had torn his ACL while playing under his fifth-year option in Dallas, he would have had no financial security from his contract.
His compensation, if any, would have come from an expensive insurance policy aimed at recovering the loss of value arising from the difference between the contract he could have gotten if healthy and the contract he would have gotten after suffering an injury that will make teams leery about paying market value. Those policies are very expensive, and the insurance companies have a reputation for not being overly eager about paying the money.
The best security comes from a fair contract. Parsons got it from the Packers. Which allows him to focus on getting himself healthy without having to give a moment of thought to his compensation.
The Packers’ fear has been confirmed.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, an MRI confirmed that star defender Micah Parsons has, in fact, suffered a torn ACL.
He faces a recovery time of at least the next nine months.
Parsons went down on a non-contact play late in the third quarter of Sunday’s eventual loss to the Broncos. Parsons was trying to change directions while chasing quarterback Bo Nix.
Parsons’ injury brings his first season with the Packers to a premature close. In his 14 games with Green Bay this year, Parsons registered 12.5 sacks with 12 tackles for loss, 26 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles.
