NFL
Will DJ Moore play for the Bears against the 49ers? NFL injury update
Problems continue to stack up for Chicago, who head into Week 14 with a new coach and a host of injuries.
What has been a turbulent season for the Bears descended to a new low with the Thanksgiving Day defeat to the Detroit Lions. It brought up the team’s sixth straight defeat and cost Matt Eberflus his job - the first time in the franchise’s history that a coach has been fired during the regular season.
Brown’s first game in charge of the Bears
Thomas Brown, who just three weeks ago was the team’s passing game coordinator, takes over as interim coach with the unenviable task of salvaging something from the season.
The team’s last win was against the Jaguars in London almost two months ago. Since then, losses to the Commanders, Cardinals, Patriots, Packers, Vikings and Lions has left the Bears 4-8 at the foot of the NFC North.
On top of that, Brown might need to do some reshuffling. Three players Ryan Bates (concussion), Roschon Johnson (concussion) and Elijah Hicks (ankle) have missed all of this week’s practice sessions and are ruled out.
Wide receiver DJ Moore and running back D’Andre Swift both carrying quad injuries were listed as unspecified did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday but returned for limited practice on Friday and have been upgraded to questionable.
DJ Moore and Swift face late fitness tests
Head coach Thomas Brown gave an update after Friday’s session: “I' sure you guys already the the injury report - two guys questionable: DJ Moore and Swift ran around today, looked pretty good so we’ll just have to see how the next couple of days go. We’ll see what happens on game day.
“They probably had two or three plays per period, so it wasn’t a full days' work but we’re going to ease those guys back into it and see how they feel” the coach explained.
If Moore doesn’t get the green light on Sunday, Brown will look to Rome Odunze, who has been steadily improving in his five outings so far this season. The 22-year-old rookie receiver has 41 catches for 543 yards and one touchdown.
The NFL Week 14 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Las Vegas Raiders will be played on Sunday December 8 2024 at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California with kick off at 1:35 p.m. PT / 4:25 a.m. PT.
The game will air live on FOX and can been streamed locally on NFL+.