Bears Add Critical Player to Active Roster Amid Widespread O-Line Injury Woes

Getty Chicago Bears offensive tackle and former starter Larry Borom.

The Chicago Bears offensive line is in a bad way due to several injuries across multiple positions, though the team has offered some good news ahead of its Week 9 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

Chicago brought one player back from IR on Saturday, November 2, while elevating two offensive linemen from the practice squad.

“The Bears activated Larry Borom off injured reserve,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported via an X post. “He’s been working at left tackle this week with Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie out for the Cardinals game. OL Jake Curhan and CB Reddy Steward were elevated from the practice squad.”

The 25-year-old Borom appeared in 39 games for the Bears over his previous three years with the team, earning 23 starts along the way. He has not played at all in 2024, however, and will return Sunday in Arizona from an ankle injury that has been his most recent obstacle to getting on the field this year.

Bears Hopeful That Offensive Guard Teven Jenkins Can Go Against Arizona

GettyChicago Bears left guard Teven Jenkins.

Offensive guards Ryan Bates and Teven Jenkins are both questionable heading into the contest, Bates due to a shoulder injury that had him on IR for several weeks and Jenkins because of a knee issue. However, head coach Matt Eberflus offered some optimism on Jenkins during a media session Friday.

“Teven Jenkins was good today,” Eberflus said. “He participated in most of the practice. He looks good out there, feels good, so we’re hopeful there.”

Chicago needs as much health luck as it can get on an offensive front that has struggled to protect rookie quarterback Caleb Williams even when healthy. Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked the Bears offensive line 20th out of 32 teams in the league heading into Week 9.

“Left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jenkins left Week 8’s game with injuries. They were replaced by Kiran Amegadjie and Doug Kramer (after backup guard Bill Murray also got injured), respectively, and they earned the two lowest overall grades on the Chicago offensive line,” Buday wrote on October 30. “Prior to his injury, Jenkins earned a 90.5 PFF overall grade on 46 snaps to lead all guards in Week 8.”

Bears May Need to Call on Maligned Offensive Guard Nate Davis Against Cardinals

GettyChicago Bears right guard Nate Davis.

All of the Bears’ injury concerns across the unit could result in the team turning back to former starting guard Nate Davis out of sheer necessity, though that is likely to be an absolute last resort.

Chicago has already benched Davis twice this season, as word has spread that the coaching staff has grown tired of what it perceives as a lack of practice work ethic from a player the organization signed to a $30 million contract ahead of the 2023 campaign.

The Bears have made clear a willingness to eat some of Davis’ salary for the remainder of this season just to get him off the team, though it’s unclear if even that will be enough to get another franchise to bite ahead of the league’s November 5 trade deadline.

Now, however, it appears that the lack of interest in Davis may actually benefit the Bears considering all of the injuries to the offensive line that have forced Chicago to dig deep into the practice squad just to field a full unit.