Bears Safety Depth Being Tested
One known bad bit of bad news was followed Tuesday by previously uncertain bad news for the Bears.
Both Darnell Mooney and safety Eddie Jackson went on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
Coach Matt Eberflus had announced Mooney on Monday with his ankle injury, but Jackson's situation had been left to further examination of what NFL.com had reported early Tuesday was a Lisfranc injury.
"I mean, Eddie is in my opinion the best in the game, a great teammate," safety DeAndre Houston-Carson said. "Obviously it hurts us. But we just have to find a way to try to find that production from other people."
That includes Houston-Carson.
Without Jackson, the Bears promoted safety A.J. Thomas from the practice squad to the regular roster. Thomas, an undrafted rookie from Western Michigan, has been on the practice squad since the start of the season.
In college, the 6-foot-2, 214-pound Thomas played safety and linebacker. He made 221 tackles in 44 games with two interceptions, three sacks and 16 1/2 tackles for loss. He also broke up 14 passes.
The Bears were down to their last two safeties on the 53-man roster on Sunday when they had Houston-Carson and Elijah Hicks playing, after Jackson's injury, a concussion the previous week to Jaquan Brisker and a hamstring injury to Dane Cruikshank.
Cruikshank has played in only eight games this year due to an assortment of injuries.
Unless Brisker returns, it would appear likely they'll need to get Hicks ready to start.
The 39 plays Hicks had on Sunday were his first on defense in the NFL. He has nine tackles, six coming Sunday, and the others on special teams.
"He tackled really well," Houston-Carson said of the 2022 seventh-round pick from California. "He's really smart, so he was on his details as far as his assignments.
"He's a fun player to be on the field with. He's always celebrating good plays, so I'm excited to see him keep playing."
TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND BEARS AVAILABLE THROUGH SI TICKETS
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
