The Bears had their top two running backs on the injury report this week, but neither one of them is at risk of missing Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
Neither D’Andre Swift nor Kyle Monangai has an injury designation for Week 2. Swift was limited with ankle and knee issues the last two days while Monangai has a hamstring injury, but they were both full participants in practice on Friday.
The full participation and lack of injury designations gives them two things in common with the rest of the team’s active roster. Everyone on the team fully practiced and no one will be carrying a designation into Sunday.
That should mean safety Xavier Woods makes his 2026 debut, but it remains to be seen when offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo will make his return from a torn patellar tendon.
Vikings Clips
Carson Wentz will be the starting quarterback for the Vikings in Week 2.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that Wentz will be under center against the Bears at the start of his Friday press conference. O’Connell said that Kyler Murray has made good progress in the concussion protocol, but that he has been ruled out after three limited practices.
O’Connell added that he expects Murray to clear the protocol next week. J.J. McCarthy will be active as the No. 2 quarterback after serving as the emergency third quarterback for the Week 1 win over the Packers.
Right tackle Brian O’Neil (knee) returned to practice on Friday and O’Connell said that he will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings missed his third straight practice while attending to a personal matter and has been ruled out for this week.
Vikings running back DeeJay Dallas, who has earned a roster spot following the placement of Jordan Mason on IR with a thumb injury, has provided a headshot for the ages, with eyes bulging wide.
Via Dawn Mitchell of Fox 9, Dallas has explained the facial expression he adopted for his pose.
“I just want the other teams to put it up in their meeting,” Dallas said. "[W]hen you see that, you kind of feel like it kind of embodies, like, the Viking mentality, like, that berserker mentality, you know?”
He did the same thing in Seattle, and it was inspired by NHL player Brandon Tanev.
Was the goal to make teams wonder whether they need to look out for Harris?
“You probably need to look out,” Dallas said. “But, nah, I’m a good guy, maybe. . . . I mean, teams probably will look at it and say, ‘Oh, this guy is making a joke.’ I’m not making a joke. I’m serious. I’m so serious. And if we are on the field and you got a chance, try it. Try it.”
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Dallas has played for the Seahawks, Cardinals, Panthers, and Jaguars. He has 85 regular-season appearances and two starts.
In Minnesota, Dallas is listed as the third-string running back, behind Aaron Jones Sr. and Demond Claiborne.
The Brian Flores litigation has uncovered a potentially significant document through a subpoena issued to the Korn Ferry search firm. And Korn Ferry is trying to keep the document out of public view.
The document has been designated as confidential under a general protective order that allows the parties to claim that certain materials should not be disclosed. Flores’s lawyers have challenged the effort to keep it secret.
Via Daniel Kaplan, Korn Ferry filed paperwork on Thursday in support of the effort to keep the document under seal. Korn Ferry argues, among other things, that “whether the limited information from Exhibit A that Korn Ferry requests remain sealed is purportedly `discriminatory’ or `retaliatory,’ such that it supports and is relevant to Plaintiff’s claims in the Supplemental Complaint, has no bearing on whether Korn Ferry is legally entitled to have Exhibit A remain under seal.”
This statement suggests, as Kaplan notes, that Flores’s lawyers have argued that the document helps prove that he was the victim of discrimination and/or retaliation.
The document in question, which one source called “insane,” was generated by Korn Ferry in connection with a coaching search conducted by the Raiders. The precise Raiders coaching search isn’t specified; the Raiders have hired new coaches in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2022, and 2018.
If the document shows potential retaliation, it means that it came from a coaching search after the filing of Flores’s lawsuit, on February 1, 2022. Because the Raiders hired Josh McDaniels on January 31, 2022, it would limit the potential application of the document to the search that resulted in the hiring of Antonio Pierce in 2024, Pete Carroll in 2025, or Klint Kubiak in 2026.
Two of those searches happened after Tom Brady — who played for the Patriots when Flores served on the coaching staff there — became a minority owner of the team.
Regardless of whether the document comes to light in the short term, it’ll definitely be disclosed and discussed if/when the case goes to trial. If the document is truly bad for the NFL and the various teams that have been sued, it could result in the case being settled before the document ever comes to light.
Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray was back on the practice field Thursday.
Murray was knocked out of last Sunday’s win over the Packers in the first quarter with a concussion and he had made enough progress in his recovery to practice on a limited basis Wednesday. Murray got in another limited session on Thursday and the next update on where he stands in the concussion protocol will come on Friday.
If Murray is not cleared in time to face the Bears, Carson Wentz is in line to start. Wentz was 12-of-19 for 133 yards and three touchdowns after taking over for Murray in Week 1.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (personal) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) did not practice. O’Neill was limited on Wednesday while Jennings has not practiced this week.
Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (chest) was limited for the second straight day and linebacker Blake Cashman (wrist) moved up to full participation.
While one of Chicago’s key offensive players returned to practice on Thursday, the team’s top two running backs are still worth monitoring entering the Week 2 matchup against Minnesota.
D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai remained limited on the Bears’ second injury report of the week, while right tackle Darnell Wright returned to practice in a limited capacity.
Wright (knee) did not participate on Wednesday. That he returned to the field on Thursday is a positive sign for his availability this weekend.
Swift is dealing with ankle and knee issues while Monangai has a hamstring injury. Swift rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns in the 59-37 victory over the Panthers. Monangai had 10 carries for 100 yards, including a 61-yard TD run. He also had two catches for 24 yards.
Defensive back Malik Muhammad (ankle), defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo (shoulder), offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo (knee), and defensive back Xavier Woods (groin) remained limited.
Defensive lineman Neville Gallimore (illness) returned to practice in full after missing Wednesday’s session.
Defensive lineman Grady Jarrett also returned for a full practice after revving a rest day on Wednesday. Guard Joe Thuney had a rest day on Thursday.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams wants the team to score points every time they have the ball and they came close to doing that against the Panthers in Week 1.
Things could be a bit tougher this week. The Bears will be hosting the Vikings and their defensive coordinator Brian Flores can make things very difficult on opposing quarterbacks. Flores can deploy a heavy load of blitzes — he sent extra rushers nearly 80 percent of the time in last Sunday’s win over Green Bay — or he can show pressure only to dial it back at the snap in an effort to confuse quarterbacks.
Williams has had mixed success against the Vikings in the past and called preparing to face a Flores-led defense a “big challenge” in his Wednesday press conference.
“It’s a game-plan defense. He’s gonna game plan from first snap to last snap,” Williams said. “Coach calls this ‘mental war’ when you go against versus him. That’s what it is. You’ve got to be able to go out there bad things are going to happen, bad things are gonna happen. You’ve got to be able to fight back and stay steady. That’s one of the biggest things is not allowing his defense and all of that to fluster you and get in your mind. That’s one of the first. You stay steady and now it’s time to go make plays and get completions and when the big ones show up, take them and find them.”
Solving whatever Flores throws his way this weekend will be crucial to the Bears’ chances of winning the game and it would show Williams’s continued development as a quarterback who can find ways to succeed in every situation that comes his way. The latter victory wouldn’t count in the standings immediately, but it would have a positive impact on that front over the long run.
The NFC offensive player of the week was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift landed in that category due to ankle and knee issues. Swift ran 18 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns in Chicago’s 59-37 win over the Panthers last Sunday.
Kyle Monangai also ran for 100 yards and a touchdown in the win. He joined Swift in the limited category as well and is listed with a hamstring injury.
Defensive lineman Neville Gallimore (illness), defensive lineman Grady Jarrett (rest), and right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) did not practice. Defensive back Malik Muhammad (ankle), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (shoulder), offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (knee), and safety Xavier Woods (groin) were listed as limited along with the two running backs.
The Vikings will not have one of their key contributors at running back for at least the next four weeks.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said in his Wednesday press conference that Jordan Mason is being placed on injured reserve due to a thumb fracture.
O’Connell noted Mason has already undergone a procedure to repair the injury and the team does not anticipate him being out longer than the four-week IR window.
Mason had 59 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown in the season-opening victory over the Packers.
As a corresponding move, the team is signing DeeJay Dallas to the 53-man roster off of its practice squad.
Additionally, veteran back Jerome Ford has been signed to the practice squad.
There’s some positive news on the injury front for Minnesota’s starting quarterback.
Kyler Murray is set to be a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his press conference.
Murray is in concussion protocol after taking a hard hit while sliding early on in Sunday’s victory over the Packers.
“We’ll see how he responds and continue to rely on the medical folks in that regard,” O’Connell said. “The good thing is the amount of reps he got from obviously competing and then being named the starter, he’s got a lot of reps logged away. But, yeah, really we’re taking it kind of period-by-period as far as the plan we have. But we want to be monitoring how he’s doing from a standpoint of that limited participation.
“It’s a little bit more of a vague thing at the quarterback position, just because they’re in red jerseys anyway all the way up until game time. So we’ll kind of just deal with it as it comes to us.”
Murray was on the field for just 11 offensive snaps before exiting the contest. Carson Wentz came in and played the rest of the way, completing 12-of-19 passes for 133 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Wentz would be in line to start on Sunday against the Bears if Murray does not clear the protocol.
