Chicago Bears have decisions to make on Tremaine Edmunds and the wide receiver room
Jaylon Johnson talks the gravity of Bears vs. Packers on Saturday
Jaylon Johnson isn't sure if he's played in a game with stakes this high, but he explains to Cassie Carlson why the Bears are ready for the challenge against the Packers on Saturday.
With the biggest Chicago Bears game in years just days away, head coach Ben Johnson had some difficult decisions to make.
He has already made two: Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze are out for Saturday's game vs. the Packers.
Now, What does he do with and Tremaine Edmunds?
Odunze and Burden didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday, and were estimated to be out for Tuesday's walk-through. Edmunds had his 21-day practice window open, meaning he could be back as soon as Saturday. But, the team still needs to activate him if he were to play.
"We have two practices this week and we had a lot of guys that we were unsure about," Bears coach Ben Johnson said. "Both these days of practice are really critical for us to make some of these decisions."
Big picture view:
It's easier to start with Edmunds.
If the Bears activate Edmunds, it would most likely mean he would return in a similar way that TJ Edwards returned against the Packers on Dec. 7.
Edwards played on a snap count, and his workload increased in practices and one game since. Edmunds would follow that, and doesn't carry a lot of pressure with linebacker D'Marco Jackson filling in since the Pittsburgh game and won NFC Defensive Player of the Week after the win over Cleveland.
Getting Edmunds back into the lineup would mean getting the linebacker tied for third in the league with four interceptions back into the fold against the Packers.
"If we can get Tremaine back, I mean, I think that it's a huge bonus," Johnson said. "He was playing tremendous football before the injury. He is a huge asset in coverage just because of how long he is. It's hard to get the ball around him when we're playing zones."
The anticipation was that Edmunds' injury would be a short-term injury, and Johnson said after the Steelers' game he thought Edmunds would be back before the end of the regular season at some point.
Now, Johnson needs to decide if he's confident enough in Edmunds to activate him for the biggest game of the season so far.
The other side:
Odunze and Burden didn't practice again for the Bears. Two of their top three receivers are now designated out for Saturday's game.
Burden was described as day-to-day earlier this week, and had better odds to play of the two. However, it's a big loss for the Bears' offense that neither can go on Saturday night.
Now, he Bears will turn to the next receivers down their depth chart. DJ Moore was always a top target, but now Olamide Zaccheaus is next in line at the slot receiver position.
Devin Duvernay could see some targets, too. Tight ends Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland could see an uptick in their passing game targets. But, the Bears will look to the players they have down their wide receiver depth chart to fill some of the void.
"I think we’ve got some young guys in there that we were really impressed with throughout training camp that ended up being on the practice squad," Johnson said. "If called upon, I think they've done a great job soaking the offense in over the course of the season so far and being involved."
Those players are most likely wide receivers Jadhae Walker and Maurice Alexander. Both were impressive in training camp and in the preseason, and have been biding their time. Much like Jackson on defense, this is the latest chance for the Bears to have a player step up and make plays.
The coaching staff is counting on it.
"If we feel like one guy's going to go down, another guy's going to step up and we can put him in a spot where he can have success," Johnson said. "That’s the mode of being a coach in the NFL these days. When you have a long season like this, guys are going to come up, go down, IR, off IR and you're looking to put it all together and the expectation is still find a way to win."