It certainly looked bad when Bears right guard Teven Jenkins was immobilized and taken off the field on a stretcher after hurting his neck Sunday against the Eagles, but it appears that he avoided a serious injury.
The second-year pro was at Halas Hall Tuesday and listed as limited on the injury report, meaning that he could have participated on a restricted basis had the Bears conducted a regular practice. (They instead held a walk-through in advance of Saturday's home game versus the Bills).
Coach Matt Eberflus added that Jenkins is considered day-to-day and possibly could practice Wednesday.
"He's here today," Eberflus said. "He's here, he's engaged, walking around, moving around, looking good."
Jenkins was injured on the Bears' first possession Sunday when he pulled to his left to block on a running play and slammed into a defender.
Injuries mounting: Jenkins was one of 12 Bears listed on Tuesday's injury report. Six of them would not have been able to practice: Left guard Cody Whitehair (knee), right tackle Riley Reiff (illness), receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion), tight end Trevon Wesco (calf), defensive tackle Justin Jones (illness) and cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle).
Receiver Chase Claypool (knee) would have been limited; while receiver N'Keal Harry (back), offensive tackle Larry Borom (knee) and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (finger/ribs) and Josh Blackwell (shoulder) would have been full participants.
Welcome back: As expected, running back Khalil Herbert returned to practice Tuesday, opening a 21-day window to activate him off injured reserve. The second-year pro has missed the last four games with a hip injury he sustained Nov. 13 against the Lions.
Herbert appeared in the first 10 games this year and ranked 11th in the NFL in rushing with 643 yards and four touchdowns on 108 carries at the time of his injury.
"We're excited to have him back in the fold," Eberflus said. "It will be good to have our 1-2 punch back [with Herbert and David Montgomery] along with Justin [Fields] in the run game."
Fields leads the Bears in rushing with 1,000 yards and eight TDs on 143 carries. On Sunday against the Eagles, he broke Bobby Douglass' Bears record for rushing yards by a quarterback and also became the third quarterback in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson.
Montgomery has rushed for 694 yards and five TDs on 172 attempts.
As a team, the Bears lead the NFL in rushing, averaging 186.9 yards per game.
Captain Sam: Center Sam Mustipher will serve as the Bears' honorary captain this week.
"We're proud to have him as our captain," Eberflus said. "He's done a great job this year showing grit and toughness. Really did a good job last week. We thought he performed really well against a dominating front. And so he's earned that and we're excited about that."
