Khalil Mack Misses Friday Practice with Back Injury
Khalil Mack missed Friday's Bears practice and their edge rusher's status for Monday aginst the Rams will be uncertain as they head out for an early trip to Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon.
Bears coach Matt Nagy said he's not concerned, but then again it's not his back.
"I think we'll be OK, I mean the back deal I think is more than anything I think it's just soreness, you know?" Nagy said. "You get to this point in time ... there's not much concern from that side or for anybody else. "It's kind of where we're at sometimes.
"These guys have something like that in regards to getting sick and then having a little stiff or sore back, I guess it's probably just more preventative than anything. So for me, I'm not really concerned right now."
The Bears also without defensive end Akiem Hicks for the second straight day due to illness, so their 1-2, inside-outside pass rush was absent.
Any time a player misses time with illness during the COVID-19 pandemic there is concern but Nagy said the team isn't worried in this regard.
"Well, you're right about the COVID deal, it's not that," Nagy told reporters. "Then I don't have any idea in regards to the amount symptoms that he has or anything like that. I just know that he has an illness, he's sick and wasn't able to practice so I don't you know. It's probably like all of us right now in 2020. The second this comes up we're majorly concerned but for me that's where we're at and we're just going to take it hour by hour and day by day but yeah, nothing to do with COVID."
The illness is treated seriously by the team simply for the reason you never know.
"We talked about it as a team–we're all taught to quote-un-quote be tough, to fight through it," Nagy said. "Well, you can't do that this year. So if you have any type of symptom, you have to be able to make sure that you let (head athletic trainer) Andre Tucker know and then we can go ahead and go through the steps of what needs to be taken to see whether or not where you're at with, you know, whether the COVID testing or just a normal common cold, etc."
Also missing practice was defensive back Sherrick McManis with a hamstring. McManis had played against Carolina after missing the previous game, but apparently has aggravated the injury.
McManis' injury is of particular concern because he is the backup slot cornerback and starting slot cornerback Buster Skrine also missed practice with an ankle injury that sidelined him on Thursday.
The other players with some slot training are Duke Shelley and Kindle Vildor.
Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (knee) was limited in practice, as was safety Deon Bush (hamstring).
The Bears normally make road trips the day before the game, and going out to stay two nights seems a bit unusual or risky during the pandemic. They travel back right after the game on an overnight flight.
"Well I think for us is making sure that as we get out there we understand why we're out there, being able to get adjusted to being out there doing things the right way," Nagy said. "Our director of football ops is doing an amazing job of making sure that once we get out there we are able to rock and roll, and just be good with our meetings and we're safe, everyone following protocol with eating, with where we're at doing things outside, etc."
They'll leave the hotel for a walk-through on Sunday and then return, and will be at the hotel all day. Nagy said in the past in Philadelphia when he was with the Eagles coach Andy Reid had taken his team out to the coast early, as well.
"So we have a real good action plan that we feel good about as well as just educating our players too as to why we're out there, you know, that type of deal," Nagy said.
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