Bears coach Matt Nagy revealed Tuesday that the injury quarterback Nick Foles suffered late in Monday night's loss to the Vikings isn't as severe as initially suspected.
Foles hurt his hip and glute when he was slammed to the ground with :37 remaining in the game. The ninth-year pro was carted off the field in obvious pain. Nagy described the injury Tuesday as a contusion and a strain.
"It wasn't as bad as we once thought," Nagy said. "So that was good news for us. He'll be working through that here as we go; [we'll] keep an eye on that kind of day-to-day.
"I was there when they were working on him. When I was on the field, I thought it was going to be a lot more significant … [but] it's a lot better than I thought."
Nagy told reporters that he doesn't expect Foles to be placed on injured reserve, a move that would sideline him for at least three games, saying: "I don't see that happening."
Foles and fellow quarterback Mitchell Trubisky now are both dealing with injuries. Trubisky has missed the last two games after hurting his right shoulder on a 3-yard run Nov. 1 in a loss to the Saints at Soldier Field.
On Tuesday, Nagy left open the possibility of starting Trubisky a week from Sunday when the Bears return to action following their bye week by visiting the Packers in Green Bay. According to the coach, the health of the quarterbacks will be a key factor in making that determination.
"They're both a little banged up," Nagy said. "That's the No. 1 thing that we have to look at. What we'll do, in complete honesty, is we'll take this bye week here again and we will self-scout ourselves and we will see the 'wheres' and the 'whys,' and whatever we need to do, we will do on a lot of different areas.
"When you lose four games in a row, it's all on the table. Everything's out there. But the No. 1 thing with Nick and with Mitch that we are concerned about now is making sure their health is the No. 1 priority, and that'll be significant here moving forward."
“When I was on the field, I thought it was going to be a lot more significant … [but] it’s a lot better than I thought.” Bears coach Matt Nagy on Nick Foles’ injury
Trubisky started the first three games of the season before being benched in favor of Foles during the second half of a Week 3 win over the Falcons. Trubisky has completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 560 yards with six touchdowns, three interceptions and an 87.4 passer rating. Since replacing Trubisky, Foles has connected on 65.0 percent of his passes for 1,852 yards with 10 TDs, eight interceptions and an 81.0 rating.
In other injury news, Nagy revealed that defensive tackle Akiem Hicks exited Monday night's game late in the third quarter with a strained hamstring. And the team was awaiting confirmation that punt returner Dwayne Harris sustained a torn triceps muscle.
Hicks played a major role in containing running back Dalvin Cook. The Vikings star was limited to 39 yards on 19 carries before Hicks left the game, and then rushed for 57 yards on 11 attempts in the fourth quarter with Hicks on the sideline.
Harris exited after muffing a punt that the Vikings recovered at the Bears' 22 early in the third quarter. He was replaced by Anthony Miller, who returned two punts for 12 and 32 yards. Both returns gave the Bears the ball at the Minnesota 46. But on the two possessions the offense went three-and-out and turned the ball over on downs.
