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When it comes to working the injury reports, no team is as notoriously sneaky as the New England Patriots. Head coach Bill Belichick tries to give up as little info as possible and he's been accused of not reporting the correct injuries in the past. One thing we do know for sure is defensive end Chandler Jones, otherwise known as "Couldabeen A. Bear", will not play on Sunday.
The Chicago Bears also have ruled one player out for this game, safety Danny McCray will be held out with a knee injury.
Two Bears are listed as doubtful, meaning there's only a 25% chance the player will play. Linebackers Lance Briggs (ribs) and Jon Bostic (back) just can't seem to shake their injuries.
EDIT:
With Lance Briggs still out, #Bears will turn to Christian Jones at weak-side linebacker over Khaseem Greene. http://t.co/atrlld1LWE
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) October 24, 2014
I like Christian Jones getting the nod over Khaseem Greene this week.
Chicago right tackle Jordan Mills is listed as questionable (50/50) this week with a nagging foot injury. If he's held out, look for Michael Ola to get the start at his third different position this year.
#Bears coach Marc Trestman calls foot injury for RT Jordan Mills a "problem right now." Mills is questionable for Sunday.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) October 24, 2014
Maybe the smartest thing to do for Mills is to shut him down this week, give him the week 9 bye to heal, they reevaluate for Packers week.
#Bears coach Trestman on OL Ola: "We're grateful to have him here and Michael is grateful to be here."
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 24, 2014
Rookie corner Kyle Fuller, one week removed from breaking his hand and suffering a hip pointer, is listed as probable. Him having a 75% chance to play against the Pats shows just how tough he is.
Safety Chris Conte (shoulder), tight end Martellus Bennett (hamstring) and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff are also probable. Fuller, Conte and Bennett all practiced in full today, while Ratliff did not practice. Ratliff hasn't been on the injury report all week, so it's possible this was just a veterans day off. We'll update if anything official breaks.
New England has a lengthy injury list, headlined by quarterback Tom Brady who is listed as probable. Other probable Patriots are CB Brandon Browner, LB Jamie Collins, LB Dont'a Hightower and DB Devin McCourty.
Patriots listed as questionable are OL Dan Connolly, DL Dominique Easley, DB Nate Ebner, OL Cameron Fleming, WR Matthew Slater, OL Bryan Stork and RB Shane Vereen.