The Bears lost a defensive starter to injury for the third time in as many games this season when safety Quintin Demps broke his arm in Sunday's 23-17 overtime win over the Steelers.
Demps was injured in the fourth quarter while trying to tackle Le'Veon Bell after the running back caught a short pass from Ben Roethlisberger. In announcing the news Monday, coach John Fox said that the Bears are still evaluating whether to place Demps on injured reserve.
With Demps getting hurt two weeks after inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman suffered a pectoral injury, the Bears have now lost both of their co-captains on defense. Freeman's replacement, Nick Kwiatkoski, suffered a less severe pectoral injury in a Week 2 loss in Tampa.
Bears safety Quintin Demps.
"Everybody in the league deals with injuries," Fox said. "We're no different in that aspect. You'd like to see that stop at some point. Luckily we got some guys back last week."
The Bears benefited from the return of guard Kyle Long, receiver Markus Wheaton and cornerback Prince Amukamara against the Steelers. But now they must replace Demps.
"The good news is we've got guys that have been with us," Fox said. "There are guys that are familiar with what we're doing. That was the advantage of some of the injuries and play time we got a year ago. We feel good about guys stepping in. Obviously we don't want to see anybody get hurt or injured, but those other guys are worthy."
The "next man up" appears to be third-year pro Adrian Amos, who entered Sunday's game after Demps was injured. The 2015 fifth-round pick started 31 of 32 games in his first two seasons with the Bears before entering this year as a backup behind Demps and rookie Eddie Jackson.
"I think [Amos] will be fine because he's been in this position before," said cornerback Sherrick McManis. "This is another year for him. He's learned. He's a better player, smarter player. I think he'll get the job done, and he won't be by himself. We'll be here with him as a defensive unit. Special teams and offense have got our back as well."
Proper assessment: It appears that quarterback Mike Glennon will make his fourth straight start Thursday night when the Bears visit the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
"We're not going to announce our starting lineup until pretty close to game time, but I think that's a fairly proper assessment," Fox said.
In Sunday's win over the Steelers, Glennon completed 15 of 22 passes for 101 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 74.2 passer rating.
"Much like everybody else, I think it's really hard to say there's perfection," Fox said. "It's like the rest of our team: he played well enough for us to win."
Little big man: Rookie running back Tarik Cohen is quickly becoming the most electrifying player Bears fans have seen since return specialist Devin Hester.
The fourth-round pick rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries and caught four passes for 24 yards against the Steelers. His stats would have been even more impressive if he hadn't barely stepped out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 37 on an apparent 73-yard touchdown run in overtime.
Cohen now has 20 receptions, tied for the third most ever by an NFL rookie in his first three games behind Anquan Boldin (23 in 2003) and Earl Cooper (21 in 1980).
"He loves to play the game," Fox said. "I think it's contagious. He's very explosive, can kind of change on a dime. As far as ability-wise, I think he'll just continue to get better the more he gets comfortable. He's playing a lot of wideout, running back, punt return. He does a lot and it's a lot to ask of a rookie mentally. All-in-all everybody's been pretty impressed with him."
Go with the Flo: Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd has yet to record a sack in three games this season, but that doesn't mean the second-year pro has not made an impact.
"By no means is he off to a slow start," Fox said. "He's very disruptive. I think our opponents and people that look at him on tape understand that. Sometimes those things come in bunches. But he's affected the quarterback quite a bit. I think he'll continue to improve and overall our whole defense will."
