Bear Digest

Ozzy Trapilo and Luther Burden listed with new injury issues

Chicago Bears injury report: The starting Bears left tackle was listed as limited if they had held a practice Wednesday, and Luther Burden's injury from Sunday was revealed.
Gene Chamberlain|
Luther Burden gets loose after a catch against Cleveland. Burden, who had an ankl injury in Week 16, now has a quad injury.
Luther Burden gets loose after a catch against Cleveland. Burden, who had an ankl injury in Week 16, now has a quad injury. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Rome Odunze return appears to be a postseason target based on Wednesday's first injury report of Week 18 for the Lions game, and it probably should surprise no one.

Coach Ben Johnson wouldn't comment on the status of Odunze and the Bears didn't practice Wednesday but held a walk-through. Instead, they were required to put out a projected injury report and Odunze would have missed practice with his foot injury.

It makes little sense to bring Odunze back for what could be a game that only matters to the Bears for seeding purpose--and not top seed at that.

The good news for the injury report is the illness that ran rampant at Halas Hall seems to have subsided. Only defensive back Nick McCloud was affected by illness enough still to have been limited in practice. Last week eight different players were hit by it.

Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus missed the 49ers game with an illness and was listed as able to go through a full practice.

There were injury concerns, though. Tackle Ozzy Trapilo has a knee and quad injuries that would have limited him in practice. Also, the injury Luther Burden suffered at the end of the 49ers game was specified as a quad, but it wasn't serious enough to keep him sidelined if they had practice. He would have been limited.

“We’re hopeful that he’ll be just fine this week," Ben Johnson said about the rookie receiver.

Still, using key players like Burden and Trapilo when they have a bigger game coming the following week seems like a risk they don't need to take. When Burden had a his career-best eight receptions fo 138 yards against the Niners, he was already coming off an ankle injury last week that kept him sidelined the previous week at Soldier Field against Green Bay. So limiting him seems even more like a good policy.

The other injury concerns are DB Josh Blackwell, who would have been limited with a shoulder injury, and defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka due to a concussion suffered in the loss at San Francisco.

Johnson did confirm reports linebacker Noah Sewell was done for the year with an Achilles tendon tear, and he went onto injured reserve.

Sewell would be replaced as strongside linebacker by D'Marco Jackson in the base defense.

At the same time they announced Sewell's status, they also activated tight end Nikola Kalinic from the practice squad injured reserve to the practice squad.

Like the Bears, the Lions didn't practice but they had a long list of players who would not have practiced.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone (concussion, offensive lineman Christian Mahogany (illness), defensive tackle Alim McNeill (abdomen), tackle Penei Sewell (ankle), wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee/ankle), safety Thomas Harper (concussion), offensive lineman Trystan Colon (wrist) and guard Kayode Awosika (illness) all would have missed practice.

Defensive back Avonte Maddox (back, illness), tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder/illness) and offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (knee) would have been limited.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.