Mitchell Trubisky yet to throw in Bears practice; Chase Daniel ready to start again
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears have been reluctant to rule out Mitchell Trubisky for Sunday's game against the New York Giants, but head coach Matt Nagy said Thursday that the quarterback has still not thrown a football since injuring his right shoulder on Nov. 18 versus the Vikings.
"He's going to do exactly what he did Wednesday," Nagy said. "Nothing's going to change. Mitch is going be limited [on the official injury report].
"Is he throwing? No."
Trubisky reiterated on Thursday that his shoulder problem will not be a long-term issue for the Bears.
Trubisky was injured on a 5-yard scramble late in the fourth quarter of Chicago's 25-20 victory over Minnesota in Week 11. Vikings safety Harrison Smith was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play after he hit Trubisky as the quarterback attempted to slide.
"I feel good. I feel good," Trubisky said. "I'm definitely not worried about it, and the good news is it's not something that's going to prevent me in the long term. So, we're just making sure it's right, 110 percent, and when I can come back, I'll be what this offense and what this team needs me to be.
"It was just an awkward landing, and then I got hit, and my arm got caught underneath me the wrong way. It was really just a freak play, and I didn't know what happened at the time. Luckily, I was able to finish out the game, and more importantly we won."
All signs point to veteran quarterback Chase Daniel, 32, making his second consecutive start in place of Trubisky on Sunday in New York.
Daniel went 27-of-37 for 230 yards and two touchdowns (106.8 passer rating) in Chicago's Thanksgiving Day win in Detroit.
"It'll be good [to have a full week of practice] and actually get some timing down with the receivers and tight ends and running backs, although I thought it was pretty good last week, too, for not really taking a full-speed rep all week," Daniel said Wednesday. "There's always stuff you can grow on.
"I'm a perfectionist, so what I try to do is look at the negatives of the game and try to improve on it. And there were 10 incompletions; some of those should've been completions. Four sacks; too many, those were all on me. So you just constantly try to be a perfectionist. That's how I am and I was raised, just try to play the best game possible, and with practice, we can continue to do that."
Besides Trubisky, the Bears are also monitoring the health of defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, who appeared on the injury report this week with an Achilles issue.
Nagy called the Bears' decision to hold Hicks out of practice this week "precautionary," but Chicago can ill afford to lose its best defensive lineman. Hicks, who is playing at a Pro Bowl level, leads the Bears' defense in quarterback hits (11) and tackles for loss (nine), and is tied for second on the team with four sacks.
