The Bears are riding high after the return from injury of quarterback Caleb Williams who led Chicago to a 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Now the Bears face a quick turnaround when they face the New England Patriots on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football — a team looking to win a fourth straight game, and have averaged 33.3 points per game on their three-game winning streak.
Kyle Monangai sat out Chicago Bears practice again Tuesday, putting his return for Thursday night’s game against New England in serious doubt, according to NBC Sports.
The Bears now face a third straight game without the running back who powered their early rushing attack, and the Patriots rank among the NFL’s top 10 in run defense.
Monangai suffered a turf toe injury, along with a lesser thumb issue, after posting 30 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns against the New York Jets in Week 4. He has not practiced since. Chicago ruled him out for Weeks 5 and 6.
Through four games, Monangai had 60 carries for 324 yards and three touchdowns, according to Bears Wire analysis. That works out to 5.4 yards per carry.
Coach Ben Johnson has called the running back week-to-week and kept him off injured reserve, which would have forced a minimum four-game absence.
“It remains a week-to-week situation, but as far as I know, he’s continuing to trend in the right direction,” Johnson said, according to Sports Illustrated.
| CHICAGO BEARS — INJURY REPORT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 7 • Tuesday Report • Bears vs. New England Patriots • Walk-through | |||
| Pos | Player | Injury | Tue |
| DID NOT PRACTICE | |||
| LB | T.J. Edwards | Hamstring | DNP |
| RB | Kyle Monangai | Thumb / Toe | DNP |
| LB | Jack Sanborn | Concussion | DNP |
| LIMITED | |||
| OL | Jonah Jackson | Hip / Quadriceps | Limited |
| FULL | |||
| LB | Keyshaun Elliott | Quadriceps | Full |
| DB | Tyrique Stevenson | Hip | Full |
| * Monday and Tuesday were walk-throughs — participation is estimated. Wed designations and Game Status TBD. Source: Chicago Bears official injury report. | |||
Chicago Bears’ Kyle Monangai Turf Toe Recovery Timeline
The length of the absence fits the injury. Turf toe is a sprain of the ligaments around the big toe, the joint a running back uses to push off, accelerate and cut.
A Grade 1 stretch, the mildest form, usually resolves in one to two weeks. A Grade 2 sprain, a partial tear, typically keeps players out two to eight weeks. A complete Grade 3 tear can sideline them for six to 12 weeks or longer, according to Sporting News turf toe guide.
Monangai will have missed three games by Thursday, which sits inside that window. The Bears have described his status only as week-to-week.
Chicago plays New England and then gets 11 days off before Seattle on Nov. 2. Sports Illustrated pegs Week 8 as his earliest likely return.
| CHICAGO BEARS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RESULTS — 4-2 | |||||
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Result | Record |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 13 | @ Carolina | Away | W 59-37 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | Minnesota | Home | L 9-3 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Mon, Sep 28 | Philadelphia | Home | W 27-7 | 2-1 |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | New York Jets | Home | W 23-12 | 3-1 |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 11 | @ Green Bay | Away | L 31-7 | 3-2 |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | @ Atlanta | Away | W 31-23 | 4-2 |
| UPCOMING | |||||
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Kickoff (ET) | Network |
| 7 | Thu, Oct 22 | New England | Home | 8:15 p.m. | Prime Video |
| 8 | Mon, Nov 2 | @ Seattle | Away | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | Tampa Bay | Home | 8:20 p.m. | NBC |
| WK 10 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | New Orleans | Home | 1:00 p.m. | FOX |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | @ Detroit | Away | 1:00 p.m. | CBS |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 6 | Jacksonville | Home | 1:00 p.m. | FOX |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | @ Miami | Away | 1:00 p.m. | CBS |
| 15 | Sat, Dec 19 | @ Buffalo | Away | 8:20 p.m. | CBS |
| 16 | Fri, Dec 25 | Green Bay | Home | 1:00 p.m. | Netflix |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | Detroit | Home | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Minnesota | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. Week 7 is Thursday Night Football on Prime Video vs. New England. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. | |||||
Bears Backfield Without Monangai Against Patriots
New England allows 91.8 rushing yards per game, eighth-best in the NFL, according to Fox Sports defensive rankings, meaning the Bears will need all the help they can get in the ground game to free up Williams in the air. Without Monangai, where does that help come from?
D’Andre Swift should handle a sizable workload, with Roschon Johnson behind him.
In the Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Chicago ran for 81 yards, its first game under 100 this season, according to Bears Wire Week 5 analysis. Johnson managed five carries for six yards that day, plus five catches for 34 yards.
The situation improved only somewhat in the win over the Falcons, with Johnson (51), Swift (44) and Williams (3) combining for a mediocre 98 yards.
“A little bit less,” Ben Johnson said of the backfield’s output without Monangai, as quoted by Bears Wire.
Quarterback Caleb Williams returned from a hamstring injury in the victory over the Falcons, completing 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. Chicago ran only 33 times, so the offense leaned on Williams’ arm.
Thursday gives Williams a second game without his lead complementary runner, and the Patriots’ top-10 run defense stands in the way.
Bears Dealt Tough Kyle Monangai Injury News Before Patriots Game