Darnell Wright, Nahshon Wright & more are questionable: What it means for the Chicago Bears vs. 49ers

Bears vs. 49ers preview | Bears Blitz

Coming off one of the biggest regular season wins in the history of the franchise, the Bears head to the west coast for a showdown with the 49ers. The Blitz crew gets you ready for the primetime matchup. How has Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams' relationship flourished so quickly, is the #1 seed a realistic possibility for the Bears and can the defense limit a potent 49ers offensive attack, including All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey?

On Saturday, it didn’t get any better for the Chicago Bears. Darnell Wright was added to the injury report with an illness and is questionable to play Sunday night.

Wright will not travel with the team on Saturday, but he’s far from the only player who’s been affected by the illness at Halas Hall.

Here’s what the Bears might look like if Wright and other questionable players can’t play on Sunday.

What we know:

Wright isn’t the only player who’s listed with an illness on the Bears’ injury report.

Nahshon Wright didn’t practice on Friday after being limited all week with a hamstring injury. He had an illness added to the injured hamstring on the report. Devin Duvernay, Nick McCloud, D’Marco Jackson and Josh Blackwell had an illness on the injury report.

McCloud is out for Sunday night. Darnell, Nahshon and Blackwell are questionable.

If Darnell Wright can’t go, it might mean the Bears move Ozzy Trapilo from left tackle to the right side. That would slide Theo Benedet in at left tackle. Or, the Bears could keep Trapilo at left tackle to keep the continuity there and play Benedet at right.

If Nahson Wright is out, that makes for a difficult situation. CJ Gardner-Johnson is questionable with a knee injury. McCloud is out already. Blackwell is questionable.

Tyrique Stevenson would slot back outside across from Jaylon Johnson. But, without Blackwell and Gardner-Johnson, then Jaylon Jones and Saturday practice squad call up Dallis Flowers would most likely be the depth at nickel cornerback.

Big picture view:

The bright side of all this is how the illnesses are hitting the Bears now. It’s better to feel the effects of this when a playoff berth is clinched as opposed to being in a position where they still needed to win a key game on the road.

The Bears aren’t laying down. This is far from the first time the team’s depth has been challenged, and coach Ben Johnson has been open about the Bears’ expectation to play the next man up.

In the short-term, this could mean Sunday night’s game has the potential to be a shoot out.

The 49ers are similar to the Bears. They’re down star defensive players Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. As a unit, San Francisco has allowed 332.2 yards per game. A good chunk of that average comes from the 229.3 passing yards per game they allow. That ranks near in the bottom half of the league.

With so many defensive starters and players questionable for the Bears, Johnson could have to flex his play calling abilities and further his trust in quarterback Caleb Williams. The offense might be called upon to win this game.