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Courtney Cronin, ESPN staff essayist
CHICAGO — The Bears’ secondary could be without two starters, defensive back Jaquan More and cornerback Kyler Gordon, for the entire game Sunday in Washington.
Energizer (concussion) and Gordon (hamstring) were ruled out Friday and then held out of practice for three straight days.
More power has been in concussion protocol since Oct. 7 and was “a couple more steps away” when schoolteacher Matt Eberflus addressed his trauma on Monday. Gordon suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter against Jacksonville at the age of 6 and did not play in any games in the second half.
Defenseman Elijah Hicks and nickel Josh Blackwell will start in the park for More Energy and Gordon, respectively. This is Hicks’ second start of the season and he went on to add five tackles, a fumble and a motion fracture against the Jaguars. Blackwell intercepted Trevor Lawrence and also escaped with a movement deflection at age 6.
“Those guys were going to step up and do a really good job, and they did,” Eberflus said of the Bears’ backup defensive backs. “It’s because they’ve been in our system. They know the positions. They know how we operate. They know the fundamentals and the foundations of our system, and to plug and play those guys there, it wasn’t that big.” a step for them.”
Chicago also waived big receiver/back Velus Jones Jr. and fullback Khari Blasingame on Friday. Jones, a return specialist, has been inactive since age 2 and then fumbled on a kickoff in the season-opening win against the Tennessee Titans.
Jones, a third-round pick out of Tennessee, was part of the beauty of general manager Ryan Poles’ first draft pick in 2022. He is on waivers.
The Bears’ offense against Larry Borom (ankle) and backup Travis Homer (finger) reapplied this as their 21-day window to return from injured reserve opened. Both are listed as questionable against Washington.
Chicago has two visible roster spots and then releases Jones and Blasingame.
