The Bears will be shorthanded at the cornerback position in Sunday's season finale against the Vikings at Soldier Field.
It's unclear whether rookie second-round pick Kyler Gordon will play; he's listed as questionable with a groin injury after being limited in practice Friday for the second straight day, and "Illness" was added to his injury designation on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere at the position, Jaylon Jones has been ruled out of Sunday's finale due to a concussion, while Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor and Josh Blackwell are all on injured reserve. The only healthy cornerbacks on the roster are Breon Borders, Harrison Hand, Michael Ojemudiaand Greg Stroman Jr.
"These are the guys that are on our roster," said coach Matt Eberflus. "You got O.J. and Breon stepping in those roles. That's important that they put their best foot forward. The techniques and fundamentals that we teach are simple. They've been working on them since they've been here. I'm excited about the opportunity for those guys. We get a chance to look at those guys."
Borders was signed to the Bears practice squad Nov. 22 and added to the active roster Dec. 24. He was active but did not play against the Bills and then was inactive versus the Lions.
Prior to joining the Bears, Borders played in 31 games with six starts for the Bills (2017), Jaguars (2018-19), Commanders (2019), Titans (2020-21) and Cardinals (2022), compiling 42 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one interception, seven pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
Borders entered the NFL in 2017 with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent from Duke. He has also spent time with the Texans, Steelers and Dolphins.
The Bears claimed Hand off waivers from the Giants Sept. 13. He has appeared in three games this season, with his most playing time coming last Sunday against the Lions when he was on the field for 40 defensive snaps and recorded three tackles and one pass breakup.
Hand was selected by the Vikings in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of Temple. In his first two seasons with Minnesota, he appeared in 23 games with one start and registered 22 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception.
The Bears claimed Ojemudia off waivers from the Broncos Dec. 28. He was inactive last Sunday against the Lions. Ojemudia was selected by Denver in the third round of the 2020 draft out of Iowa. He appeared in all 16 games with 11 starts as a rookie, registering 62 tackles, six pass breakups and four forced fumbles. But he has played in just five games the past two seasons, two in 2021 and three this year.
Stroman originally signed with the Bears April 21 before being waived as part of final cuts Aug. 30. He was re-signed to the practice squad Dec. 28 and elevated to the active roster for last Sunday's game in Detroit, playing 11 snaps on special teams.
Stroman was selected by the Commanders in the seventh round of the 2018 draft out of Virginia Tech. He appeared in 20 games with three starts over three seasons with Washington from 2018-20, registering 38 tackles, one interception, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
After being released by the Commanders on Aug. 17, 2021, he spent parts of last season on the practice squad with the Bills and Rams.
In other injury news, linebacker Sterling Weatherford (illness) has been ruled out of Sunday's game; and defensive tackle Angelo Blackson (illness) and linebacker Terrell Lewis (personal) are questionable after not practicing Friday.
On Wednesday, the Bears announced that quarterback Justin Fields would miss Sunday's finale with a strained hip and that he would be replaced by Nathan Peterman, who will make his first start of the season.
Long-snapper Patrick Scales (neck) was a full participant in Friday's practice after sitting out Thursday and was not given an injury designation, meaning that he's expected to play against the Vikings.
Player | Injury | Game status |
---|---|---|
Jaquan Brisker
|
Personal | Not_Listed |
Jaylon Jones
|
Concussion | Out |
Patrick Scales
|
Neck | Not_Listed |
Kyler Gordon
|
Groin/Illness | Questionable |