The wheels have fallen off the Chicago Bears’ 2022 season pretty quickly. Not only are they 3-9 and currently slated to pick second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, they’re also getting ravaged by injury to key players at critical positions.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney is out for the year with a left ankle injury. Quarterback Justin Fields missed Week 12 with a left shoulder injury and his status for Week 13’s game against the Green Bay Packers remains in doubt. It’s likely more doubtful now that starting and backup right tackles Riley Reiff (shoulder) and Larry Borom (ankle) might be sidelined with injuries of their own.
Sometimes, the best thing to come from a season like the Bears are having is the emergence of a young player in the final month of games. That opportunity may be presenting itself for offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, the former 2021 first-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, who the Bears claimed off waivers over the summer.
“All combinations are up,” coach Matt Eberflus said of the offensive line Monday. “Obviously we’ve had multiple combinations this year, as you guys know.”
