Bears Deliver Bad News on $53 Million Star Ahead of Patriots Game

The Chicago Bears shared more unfortunate news for their run game via an estimated injury report on Monday, October 19, this time involving elite offensive lineman Jonah Jackson.

Chicago is entering a short week, during which it will host the surging New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Thursday Night Football. As such, the team orchestrated a walkthrough on Monday, which would otherwise be a day off during a normal week.

Walkthroughs don’t allow for official injury report designations, but teams are still obligated to project what an individual player’s status would be if it was holding a normal practice session.

Jonah joined backup running back Kyle Monangai, another important piece of the run game, as part of a handful of players who got DNP [did not practice] designations from the team on Monday.

“Bears injury report: T.J. Edwards (hamstring), Jonah Jackson (hip/quad), Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe) and Jack Sanborn (concussion) were listed as DNPs,” Chris Emma of The Score reported via X. “The team conducted a walkthrough so this is an estimation.”

Jonah Jackson Has Been Among Best Offensive Guards in NFL This Season

Jackson suffered his injury during the third quarter of Chicago’s win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. His loss was significant, and will be even more so if he misses the entire contest against the Patriots three days from now, given how well Jackson has played this season.

Pro Football Focus grades the 29-year-old OL as the fifth-best offensive guard out of 76 players who have seen enough snaps to qualify for a ranking to this point in the season. Meanwhile, Pro Football Network has Jackson graded with a player impact score of 85.4, which makes him the 12th-most productive offensive lineman across all positions through six weeks.

Chicago also pays Jackson like one of the best in the league. He is currently in the second season of a three-year contract worth a total of $52.5 million. Jackson had injury issues with the Los Angeles Rams in 2024, playing in just four games. However, he appeared in all 17 regular season contests and both of the Bears’ playoff games in the 2025-26 campaign.

Luke Newman Likely to Start Against Patriots if Jonah Jackson Can’t Play

Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor spoke with reporters on Monday about the chances that Jackson gets back on the field in time to play against the Patriots, though he was largely non-committal one way or the other.

“We’ll see where Jonah’s at and if he’s got a chance to play on Thursday night,” Taylor said. “But we’re excited about the depth we have there.”

Second-year offensive guard Luke Newman, a sixth-round pick out of Michigan State in 2025, stepped in for Jackson in Atlanta. He appeared in nine contests as a rookie, playing 25 snaps on defense and another 47 snaps on special teams last season. Newman has exactly 29 snaps on each offense and special teams through six games this season after his relief appearance Sunday.

“All Luke [Newman’s] 27 snaps,” former NFL player Clay Harbor captioned a video he posted to X on Monday. “I think Luke Newman played well in relief of Jonah Jackson. Obviously wasn’t perfect, but he was prepared and competed. His 27 snaps Sunday matched his ENTIRE career total. He’s not a [people-mover] like Jackson, but he’s serviceable.”

This article was originally published on HEAVY

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