Coach Matt Eberflus revealed Monday that quarterback Justin Fields sustained a dislocated right thumb against the Vikings and likely won't play Sunday when the Bears host the Raiders.
"There's no timetable right now and it's really going to come down to grip strength," Eberflus said. "There's natural swelling that occurs with this injury. We really should know more at the end of the week.
"Is he going to play this week? It looks doubtful right now for that. But again, we'll see at the end of the week and be able to make that known at the end of the week. That's where it is with that."
Fields was injured in Sunday's 19-13 loss to the Vikings when he landed awkwardly on his hand while being sacked by outside linebacker Danielle Hunter early in the third quarter. His X-rays Sunday were negative, and he had an MRI exam Monday.
On the play, Fields stood in the pocket before trying to escape to his left.
"I just know him being able to get rid of the ball a little bit faster, we would certainly like that so he wouldn't take the hit," Eberflus said. "That's what I'll say about the end of the play, for sure. He just kind of fell on it funny."
Fields left the game after completing 6 of 10 passes for 58 yards with one interception and rushing for 46 yards on eight carries. At that point, the Bears had been limited to two Cairo Santos field goals and trailed 12-6.
"When you're looking at the performance of anybody, it always comes down to 11 guys," Eberflus said. "So it's not just Justin. I thought our offense needed to perform better as a whole up to that point. We need to do a better job in protection, need to do a better job in our execution phase of it. It doesn't really come down to just one guy. I just really feel that when you're talking about the whole group, we all need to execute better."
More injury news: Eberflus also announced that right guard Nate Davis will miss the Raiders game and is considered week-to-week after exiting the Vikings contest with a high ankle sprain. Davis was injured in the first quarter and replaced by second-year pro Ja'Tyre Carter.
In addition, Eberflus said that rookie cornerback Terell Smith, who did not play Sunday, will be sidelined 3-4 weeks due to mononucleosis.
Eberflus welcomes Phil Snow: The Bears have hired Phil Snow as a senior defensive analyst. Snow boasts 46 years of experience as a defensive coach, including 37 at the collegiate level and six in the NFL. He most recently served as defensive coordinator of the Panthers from 2020-22.
"We certainly welcome him and his experience," Eberflus said. "He'll be doing advanced scouting for our defensive staff. He'll be giving us summaries of all the situations during the course of the week. He'll be here in the building the entire week. Is he going to be at games on the headset doing all of that? No, he's not. He's not going to be at the games. He's not going to be there functioning as a coach during gameday. He'll still be an analyst that's going to be helping us out for the advance scouting."
