Bears Designate Teven Jenkins For Return

The Bears have designated Teven Jenkins to return from injured reserve, head coach Matt Nagy announced. The Bears will now have a 21-day window to activate the rookie offensive tackle. 

It’s been a while since Teven’s put the pads on, so we’ll start there,” Nagy said (via NBCSports.com). “That will be exciting for us to see where he’s at. I know he’s really anxious and excited to get out there. As far as the sides and stuff, we’ll work through it with himIt’s just gonna be honestly, really, an hour-by-hour, day-by-day process with him. But it’s definitely a good thing to have, and we’re excited to get him out there.”

Jenkins, the No. 39 overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t put the pads on since undergoing back surgery in August. Before that, the Bears planned to use him as their No. 3 tackle. On the plus side, they were able to add Jason Peters that same week. Once Jenkins is able to return, he’ll slot somewhere behind the ex-Eagles star and Elijah Wilkinson. The Bears also have Lachavious Simmons and fifth-round rookie Larry Borom on hand.

The Bears packed the No. 52 choice and a third-round pick to move up for Jenkins, so they clearly have high hopes for him. Now, the Oklahoma State product could be days away from making his debut.

This Date In Transactions History: Bears Place Kyle Long On IR

Five years ago today, the Bears lost star offensive lineman Kyle Long for the year with a severe right ankle injury. Unfortunately, his health troubles did not end with the 2016 season.

Kyle Long (Vertical)Long’s right ankle injury capped his season after just eight games. But, before that, he performed as one of the best offensive linemen in the game. Long made three straight Pro Bowls in his first three seasons, seeing time at both guard and tackle. And, in all three years, Pro Football Focus had him ranked top five at his position.

It seems like we’ve got somebody freaking hurt every game,” left guard Josh Sitton said after the ’16 injury. “It sucks watching him down there on the ground. It’s tough to see one of your friends, one of your teammates and a helluva competitor, he was down there and he was in a lot of pain. It was tough to see.”

Long missed only one regular season game from 2013-2015. But, from 2016 through 2019, he made just 30 appearances out of a possible 64. It wasn’t just the ankle — there was a labrum tear in his left shoulder, triceps strains, painful hip injuries, and other maladies. After he was shut down in ’19, we didn’t hear much about Long in the early part of 2020. Then, there were summer rumblings of a return.

Full transparency I miss football, but at what cost? [Still,] I’m most likely gonna be on golf courses instead of gridirons,” Long tweeted, before adding. “I didn’t retire, I got fired.

The Chiefs hired/signed Long this past March, but a June knee injury kept him from joining the Week 1 roster. Now, for the good news – the Chiefs designated Long for return last week. Now, just before his 33rd birthday, Long could be on the verge of completing his comeback.

Bears Activate David Montgomery

The Bears have activated David Montgomery, per an official club announcement. He’ll return from the injured reserve list just in time to face the Steelers tonight in Pittsburgh. 

This is good, but expected news for the Bears. Head coach Matt Nagy said last week there was a good chance that Montgomery could return this week, marking his first action since Week 4.

Montgomery, 24, tallied 309 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns up until his injury, plus six catches for 49 yards. After his career year in 2020 — 1,070 rushing yards and eight rushing TDs — he should provide a boost for the Bears’ offense tonight. They enter the national TV matchup on a three-game losing streak, with their most recent L coming against the 49ers.

Breshad Perriman won’t be on hand, however. The wide receiver was dropped over the weekend, taking him off the roster without ever having played a down for Chicago.

Bears Cut WR Breshad Perriman

The Bears have released veteran wideout Breshad Perriman, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Perriman signed with Chicago before the start of the season but did not see any game action for the club.

Now 28, Perriman was selected by the Ravens in the first round of 2015 draft. Injuries and inconsistency marred his time in Baltimore, though he produced enough in 10 games for the Browns in 2018 to earn a one-year, $4MM deal with the Bucs in 2019. In his one season in Tampa Bay, Perriman hauled in 36 catches for 645 yards and six scores, which he parlayed into a one-year, $8MM contract with the Jets last season.

In 12 games for Gang Green, the UCF product tallied 30 receptions for 505 yards and three TDs, and he signed with the Lions in March with an eye towards earning a starting role for the rebuilding outfit. Unfortunately, a hip injury limited his chances to impress head coach Dan Campbell in training camp, and Campbell did not sound particularly thrilled with what he saw when Perriman was on the field. Detroit cut Perriman at the end of August, and he quickly latched on with the division-rival Bears.

Now, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Perriman will try to find an employer in need of a boost to its WR corps. Perriman is a prototypical big-play threat, having posted a career 16.5 yards-per-reception average. However, he has also struggled with drops and route running, and he has caught less than 50% of the passes thrown his way (which is low even for a player who is often asked to go deep).

Still, a receiver-needy club that misses out on Odell Beckham and DeSean Jackson could look his way. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com suggests that the now Beckham-less Browns could consider a reunion with Perriman, who developed a good rapport with QB Baker Mayfield in Mayfield’s rookie season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/4/21  

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: OL Jacob Capra, WR Austin Proehl

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs 

  • Signed: TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Bears’ David Montgomery Returns To Practice

The Bears have designated David Montgomery for return from injured reserve, per a club announcement. This move kicks off a 21-day window for the Bears to activate the running back. If he’s not restored to the roster in the next three weeks, he will be ineligible to return in 2021. 

Montgomery was placed on IR with an MCL sprain in Week 4. To date, he has registered 309 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, plus six catches for 49 yards. The Bears were expected to lean on ex-Kansas City starter Damien Williams in his stead, but they’ve gotten more production out of sixth-round pick Khalil Herbert. To date, he has 351 yards (and a touchdown) off of 81 carries, with the bulk of those yards coming in the last three games. That includes 5.0+ yards per carry against the Packers and the Bucs.

Montgomery, 24, is coming off of his best season to date. In 2020, he tallied 1,070 rushing yards and eight rushing TDs, good for 4.3 yards per carry. If he’s ready in time, he could make his ’21 debut against the Steelers on Monday night.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams.

New York Giants

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/2/21

We’ll keep track of today’s taxi squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

  • Released: CB Rojesterman Farris

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Football Team

Bears’ Matt Nagy Won’t Coach Sunday

Matt Nagy won’t be on the sideline tomorrow vs. the 49ers. The Bears announced that their head coach is still quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 and won’t coach Sunday’s game.

Nagy tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, so it’s not a surprise that he remains in COVID protocol. If everything goes as planned, we can assume that Nagy will be ready to go for next weekend’s matchup against the Steelers.

Nagy has spent three-plus seasons in Chicago, but he hasn’t come close to matching the 12 wins he collected during his first season at the helm. Despite a talented roster, the Bears went 8-8 in both 2019 and 2020, and the team currently sits at 3-4 heading into this weekend’s game.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will assume head-coaching duties for tomorrow’s game. Per the team’s release, Tabor was responsible for running practices this past week. He started his NFL coaching career with the Bears back in 2008, and after serving as the Browns special teams coordinator for seven seasons, he joined Nagy’s staff in the same role in 2018.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/21

Here is the Week 8 Saturday minor move blitz:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets 

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

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