The Chicago Bears pulled out a 24-20 win over the New York Giants on Sunday in front of their home crowd, but before they did, they provided a grim update on the injury status of fourth-round rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II.
Hyppolite exited in the third quarter of Week 10’s win — his first game active since September — with a knee injury, receiving a “questionable” designation from the team. After 40 minutes, though, the Bears updated his status to out for the rest of the game.
“#Bears LB Ruben Hyppolite II (Knee) has been downgraded to OUT,” the Bears’ communications team wrote on X during Sunday’s game.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson opened his postgame press conference acknowledging Hyppolite’s knee injury, but he provided no additional details about the extent of the injury (and received no questions from the press about Hyppolite’s current status).
In any case, Hyppolite’s knee injury is a tough break for the rookie. He had played 18 defensive snaps and 62 special teams snaps in the first four games of the season, but the return of veteran T.J. Edwards after Week 5’s bye led to Hyppolite riding the bench as a healthy scratch in four consecutive games before he played Sunday against the Giants.
The Bears could share more details about Hyppolite’s injury on Monday when Johnson speaks with the media again. Otherwise, Wednesday’s injury report for their road game with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11 will have the next update on Hyppolite’s status.
The Bears (6-3) will have a rematch with the Vikings (4-5) at 1 p.m. ET next Sunday.
Bears Already Without T.J. Edwards Due to Injuries
The Bears can survive without Hyppolite if he misses time with his knee injury. He plays a relatively small role, and a special teams one at that, making him replaceable.
That said, the timing isn’t great for the Bears’ linebacker corps, which already had to play Week 10’s game without Edwards — a 39-game starter — in the defensive lineup.
Edwards missed three of the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury that popped up in training camp, but he returned to his usual role after the bye week and played in four consecutive games before his most recent run-in with the injury bug.
This time, Edwards not only reaggravated the hamstring injury that hampered him in the first month of the season, but he also broke his hand, requiring him to get surgery.
Johnson expressed optimism last Friday that Edwards can play with a cast on his hand while it heals from the surgery. Even still, the combo package of a recurring hamstring injury and a surgically-repaired hand could keep him in limbo beyond Week 10’s win, especially after he sat out all three of the practices leading up to the Giants game.
Bears WR DJ Moore Also Suffered Injury vs. Giants
Hyppolite is the only Bears player who went out with an injury and did not return to the game, but the Bears also had a scare with wide receiver D.J. Moore against the Giants.
Moore went to the sidelines and into the blue medical tent for evaluation after a third-down incompletion early in the second quarter, sitting out for the rest of the half. He also went into the locker room with a pair of team trainers at the two-minute warning, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, raising concerns about the veteran’s status.
While the Bears determined Moore had a shoulder injury and ruled him questionable to return to the game, though, he returned about 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
“Unknown yet, but he’ll do everything he can,” Johnson said. “I think we have a bunch of selfless guys on offense right now that, like I said, are going to do everything they can to be out of the field for their buddies.”
Bears Give Grim Update on Rookie Who Suffered Injury vs. Giants