Bears Injury Report: Full Slate at Practice

The rare day in an NFL season when every active player is available to practice occurred on Thursday, as the Bears prepared to face either Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones and the Patriots.

The Bears know who they will have available to play Monday night: Anyone they want, barring a practice injury.

The same can't be said for the New England Patriots, especially at quarterback. However, the Bears say they don't care whether they face Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones.

They'll prepare to face a generic New England quarterback.

Patriots starter Jones went through a limited practice after three weeks away with an ankle injury Thursday, and it is unclear whether he or backup Zappe will be taking snaps.

"We definitely approach it the same way whether it's Jones or Zappe," Bears safety Jaquan Brisker said. "You know, whoever is at quarterback we're always going to play our type of defense."

In fact, the Bears might be better off facing the starter, Jones, the 2021 first-round pick from Alabama. He has a 76.2 passer rating and completed 66% on the year, with an outstanding 8.1 yards an attempt. But he had five interceptions to just two touchdown passes.

Mac’s movement. pic.twitter.com/UxEVAL0vkB

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 20, 2022

Zappe, a fourth-rounder this year from Western Kentucky and Houston Baptist, has been incredibly efficient in three straight starts.

Zappe has a 111.4 passer rating, 8.5 yards an attempt and 72.9% completions with four TDs and one interception. He had a 118.4 rating against the Browns last week.

It seems almost unjust if the Patriots pull Zappe now. Besides deserving to continue playing, he could even be the new Kurt Warner, John Unitas or Tony Romo—a total unknown who becomes a star. Or he could be the new Clint Longley, a player who has a moment in the sunshine never to be heard from again.

Regardless, Bears coach Matt Eberflus is preparing the same way for both. Because their styles are similar, it's probably a good approach to take. 

“Well, I feel that really the offense is the Patriots offense so I don't really see a big difference when I watch the tape before or after," Eberflus said. "To me, it's the offense that they're running and it's their style and they're going to stick with that."

The Patriots have a group of other players practicing on a limited basis besides Jones: defensive lineman Christian Barmore (knee), wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (toe), defensive lineman Lawrence Guy (shoulder), cornerback Jonathan Jones (ankle), guard Mike Onwenu (ankle), tight end Jonnu Smith (ankle), linebacker Josh Uche (hamstring) and tackle Isaiah Wynn (shoulder).

And the Bears don't have a single injury on their report.

It's the first time this has occurred all season.

They are still without wide receiver Byron Pringle, who is on injured reserve (calf), and are working receiver N'Keal Harry back into the lineup as he practices after missing all season with an ankle injury. 

They also  have a 21-day window open now on lineman Alex Leatherwood as he tries to return from the non-football illness list. Then they'll have a roster decision to make.

"He's working himself back in there and we'll see where it goes physically," Eberflus said. "But we're certainly excited to have a talent like that … and really start to evaluate where he is, on our offensive line."

Asked if he thought he might need to go to Leatherwood at some point, Eberflus seemed rather certain.

"Yeah. No doubt. I have no doubt," he said. "I don't rule out any of that. I would say that we need everybody. Everybody on the roster we need for us to get better.

"And we're gonna certainly look at every avenue."

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