TAMPA, Fla. — The Bears are in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak. Sunday, the team put two more players on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list: starting right tackle Elijah Wilkinson and rookie linebacker Caleb Johnson.
They become the fourth and fifth Bears players to be put on the list in the last 11 days. Running back Damien Williams, who was unvaccinated for the coronavirus, returned to the team Saturday and will play Sunday. Outside linebacker Robert Quinn, who’s been one of the team’s best players, and tight end Jimmy Graham will both miss the Buccaneers game after testing positive this week.
Receivers coach Mike Furrey, who is vaccinated, missed last week’s game after contracting the virus but returned to practice Thursday.
Wilkinson went on the list in August after being exposed to nose tackle Eddie Goldman. Both were unvaccinated.
It’s unclear who will start at right tackle in Wilkinson’s place Sunday. Lachavious Simmons is listed as the backup, though Alex Bars could see action. Bars has been used as a blocking tight end the last few weeks.
Friday, coach Matt Nagy said he wasn’t concerned that the Bears were in the midst of an outbreak.
“The change [from last season] is that there’s vaccinations,” he said. “But, really, for us the mindset heading into this was knowing … hey, you need to wear your mask. You need to be able to follow the protocol that they have. And at the same point in time for us as coaches we’ve got to have our contingency plans.”
