New Chicago Bears Injury Could Cement Malik Muhammad's Week 1 Role

Even though we're just a few days out from the Chicago Bears' first game of the 2026 campaign, there is still a few key positions we have questions about.

Those positions comes at slot cornerback and safety, where things remain murky.

We assumed Malik Muhammad would be the guy in the slot after he saw the vast majority of first-team reps at the position near the end of the offseason after Jaylon Jones got hurt, but when the Bears released their first unofficial depth chart for the regular season, it was Cam Lewis' name in the nickel.

And, at safety, 10th-year veteran Xavier Woods was listed as the starter next to Dillon Thieneman. Meanwhile, Muhammad was listed as the backup at slot cornerback behind Lewis.

New injury could cement Muhammad in the slot

Chicago Bears cornerback Malik Muhammad II. — Chicago Bears cornerback Malik Muhammad II (24) tackles Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) during the first quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If Muhammad was truly slated to enter the campaign as a backup, things might change after the Bears released their second injury report of the week on Thursday.

On it, Woods was a new addition with a groin injury and he was listed as limited. That could indicate Woods got hurt during the practice, altough that hasn't been confirmed.

Regardless, a new injury just a few days out from kickoff does not bode well for Woods' chances of suiting up. And, if Woods does not play, that could propel Muhammad into the slot.

The path there would see Lewis moved back to safety, where he saw a ton of work in training camp following Coby Bryant's injury. That, of course, would open up the slot cornerback spot for Muhammad, who looked to be in line for that job before the aforementioned depth chart was released.

Bears have more than one option

Chicago Bears safety Elijah Hicks. — Chicago Bears safety Elijah Hicks (22) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The scenario we laid out isn't the only option the Bears have, which is why we aren't locking Muhammad in just yet.

One option is to insert Elijah Hicks at safety. Hick missed almost all of the summer with a shin injury, but he has been practicing since the last week of August, so he should be ready to go if needed.

Another option is to move Lewis back to safety and put in another cornerback in the slot other than Muhammad. Chicago has a few options there, with guys like Josh Blackwell and Clark Phillips having the ability to fill in.

Blackwell, who has 219 career snaps in the slot, was the other player getting reps there along with Muhammad during training camp, but Muhammad seemed to dominate reps with the ones over Blackwell, which would seem to indicate that the Bears preferred Muhammad over Blackwell there.

Phillips has 36 snaps in the slot during his NFL career and he was mentioned as someone who could play the nickel by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

"A guy that looked to me like he had some football savvy and some football intelligence. The majority of the tape we saw, he played a little bit more outside. And yet, I see him fitting into that nickel mix a little bit and we'll see how quickly he picks everything up and then kind of go from there. But we're certainly very early in the evaluation process there," Allen said of Phillips.

The problem with Phillips is that not only does he have limited experience in the slot, he is also just a week and a half into joining the team and might not be up to speed with Allen's defense.

At the end of the day, all of these options are feasible, and while we'd love to know which one the Bears will go with if Woods does not play, we may not find out until after kickoff on Sunday.

Add us as a preferred source on Google