The Chicago Bears won’t have to wait until game day to find out whether quarterback Kyler Murray will start for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
The Vikings officially ruled out Murray with a concussion on their final injury report for Sunday’s game against the Bears despite his practicing with the team all week.
Murray sustained his concussion after a hard hit to the head at the end of a scramble play in the first quarter of Week 1’s win over the Green Bay Packers. While the injury forced him into the NFL’s concussion protocol, he still managed to practice as a limited participant throughout the week, seemingly giving him a chance to play in Chicago.
Instead, the Vikings will start veteran Carson Wentz against the Bears in Week 2.
The Bears will kick off their home opener against the Vikings at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
Carson Wentz Played Bulk of Snaps for Vikings in Week 1
The Vikings will trot out the same quarterback who helped them rally to victory over the Packers in front of their home crowd in Week 1, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for Dennis Allen and the Bears defense from a game-planning perspective.
With Murray exiting in the first quarter, Wentz played the majority of snaps (83%) for the Vikings against the Packers, completing 12 of his 19 passes for 133 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers and delivering a poised fourth-quarter comeback.
In other words, Wentz — and how the Vikings run their offense with him at quarterback — is all over the game tape that the Bears studied for the matchup, which could provide them with a greater advantage than if they had to face the more unknown Murray.
Now, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is more likely to have a Wentz-tailored game plan in place for their showdown with the Bears, having had a full week to prepare for that outcome, but studying Wentz’ tendencies in specific may just help out Chicago.
Bears Empty Injury Report for Vikings Matchup in Week 2
The Vikings won’t have their starting quarterback or one of their veteran wide receivers — Jauan Jennings, who is out for personal reasons — against the Bears in Week 2, but Chicago doesn’t have nearly the same injury concerns after emptying its injury report.
After upgrading everyone to full participation for Friday’s walkthrough, the Bears avoided placing injury designations on all eight of its injured or sick players, clearing left tackle Ozzy Trapilo and veteran safety Xavier Woods to make their season debuts.
The Bears also notably green-lit All-Pro right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) and running backs D’Andre Swift (ankle/knee) and Kyle Monangai (hamstring) after practice limitations for all three during the week. Wright had sat out the first practice of the week.
Bears Get Critical Update on Vikings’ QB Plans for Week 2 Matchup