The Bears on Thursday placed outside linebacker Leonard Floyd on injured reserve due to a knee injury he sustained late in last Sunday's loss to the Lions.
In 10 games this season, the 2016 first-round draft pick registered 33 tackles, 4.5 sacks, nine tackles-for-loss and one fumble recovery.
Leonard Floyd sacks Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford Oct. 9 at Soldier Field.
"I thought he made a step as far as production, as far as understanding the game; how he executed his position and his responsibility," said coach John Fox. "I saw good growth, both mentally and physically. He's one of our better players on defense no doubt and he'll be missed. I thought he was having a good season and unfortunately he got injured."
Not all of Floyd's improvement from his rookie year to this season is quantifiable by statistics.
"I thought Leonard was having a good season," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. "He had decent sack numbers, but he had a lot of plays, too, where he ran down quarterbacks. We'll miss that athleticism and speed to where he tackled them after they ran for a yard or two or forced an errant throw. We'll miss his athleticism and his overall speed."
Fox revealed that Floyd will undergo surgery to repair his MCL and PCL "within the week." The Bears coach said that a timetable for Floyd's return was still being evaluated, but added "with modern medicine I think guys come back from those things fairly easy."
Next man up: Floyd's spot on the 53-man roster was filled by linebacker Howard Jones, who had been on the Bears practice squad since Oct. 6 before being promoted Thursday.
Jones, 27, spent the past two seasons with the Buccaneers, appearing in 20 games with five starts and registering 16 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble. He entered the NFL with the Steelers in 2014 as an undrafted free agent from Shepherd University.
"We've had him for a minute," Fox said. "Really the biggest tape I've seen on him is when he was in Tampa in '15. He had five sacks, played more of a defensive end. He was good on [special] teams. He has some pass rush ability. [Assistant coach] Brandon Staley has been working with him. He's been on the practice squad, but he's been schooled in what we're doing and now he's got his opportunity."
Injury update: Defensive end Akiem Hicks did not practice Thursday for the second straight day due to a knee injury, but it appears he will still play Sunday against the Eagles.
"He's going to be OK we think," Fox said. "We held him out today. The key always is getting guys to Sunday. I think you noticed that Kyle Long was listed as limited. We have to manage everybody. At this point in the season, everybody's got nicks and bruises and I don't think anybody's 100 percent, so you just try to do the best you can to get them to gameday."
Other Bears who did not practice Thursday were linebacker Danny Trevathan (calf), defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (hamstring) and safety DeAndre Houston-Carson (ankle).
In addition to Long (ankle), players who were limited included receivers Dontrelle Inman (groin) and Joshua Bellamy (concussion), tight end Dion Sims (illness), guard/tackle Tom Compton (ankle), defensive end Mitch Unrein (knee) and cornerback Bryce Callahan (knee).
