The Chicago Bears have received some good news about their veteran wide receiver that took a trip to a Detroit-area hospital following Sunday’s loss.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters Monday that wide receiver Dante Pettis was back home in Chicago and had been cleared from concussion protocol after he took a trip to the hospital for “precautionary reasons” after their 41-10 loss to the Lions. Eberflus had said in Sunday’s postgame that Pettis was experiencing “blurred vision” after coming out of the game in the fourth quarter which concerned the staff.
“He did come home on the plane last night, so he’s all set,” Eberflus said on January 2. “He’s been cleared. He’s still getting evaluated with the doctors to just make sure everything’s all good, but he did fly home — not with us, but later in the evening he flew home when he was cleared.”
Pettis was already banged-up coming into the Week 17 matchup after practicing just two out of three days (in a limited capacity) due to an ankle injury and could be someone the Bears consider shutting down for the regular-season finale against the Vikings next weekend, but it is still objectively good news to hear he avoided any serious problems related to a head injury or concussion.
The 27-year-old has been relatively hit-or-miss as a receiver during his first season with the Bears, but he has been averaging a solid 9.7 yards as their primary punt returner since he replaced rookie Velus Jones Jr. midway through the season with two returns of at least 20 yards or more. He has also been on the receiving end of more Justin Fields touchdown passes than anyone else except for Cole Kmet with three.
Will Bears Consider Retaining Pettis for 2023?
With more projected cap space than any other team — by a lot — and some premium draft resources, the Bears could end up being the most active team in the NFL in terms of roster building during the 2023 offseason. They have numerous positions where there is a talent deficiency on their current roster and few among their upcoming free agency class who have proven themselves worthy of a contract extension.
There is a small chance, though, that Pettis could garner consideration for a new deal.
Pettis has never finished a season with 500 or more receiving yards and has fallen well short of the expectations for a former second-round receiver, but he is coming off his healthiest season yet and has spent a full season learning and putting into practice the Bears’ offensive system. He also just turned 27, which is still young enough that the Bears might feel he still has potential to unlock, even if only as a return man.
The Bears signed Pettis back in May for a veteran-minimum salary of just $1.035 million for the 2022 season and had him count for less than $1 million against their cap. Unless Pettis is determined to find another squad, the Bears could probably have him back for about the same price in 2023 and wouldn’t even need to guarantee him a roster spot.
How Will Bears Handle Lineup for Final Game of 2022?
The Bears understand they have some important decisions to make about who plays in their regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. While they have continued to play their healthy starters over the past few weeks for the sake of growth, Eberflus said there will be additional conversations in the days ahead about potentially shutting down starters — including quarterback Justin Fields — for the last game against the Vikings with the overall health of the long-term pieces being the priority.
“We’re working on that, on everybody, including Justin. We’re gonna visit with Ryan [Poles], the rest of the coaching staff,” Eberflus said. “Where we were two weeks ago is different than where we are now, so I think it’s important that we evaluate that.”
How things play out with Fields could be interesting in terms of NFL history. While it would make a lot of sense for the Bears to protect Fields’ health and hold him out of the finale against the Vikings, he needs just 64 more rushing yards to break Lamar Jackson’s all-time record for most single-season quarterback rushing yards (1,206). An individual NFL record doesn’t mean much to the Bears, but if Fields is healthy enough to play and wants a shot at hitting the milestone, they may let him play at least a half.
Then, there’s a matter of some of the players dotting the Bears’ injury list. Third-year wide receiver Chase Claypool — who returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games — is still nursing a knee injury and might not be worth risking given the front office’s high expectations for him for 2023. Pettis is another candidate for shutdown, especially after a scare that sent him to the hospital.
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Bears Share Encouraging Update on Hospitalized Veteran WR