The Bears on Thursday placed defensive tackle John Jenkins on injured reserve with a thumb injury and signed nose tackle Daniel McCullers off the Steelers' practice squad.
Jenkins appeared in the first two games of the season as a reserve, recording two tackles—both in the opener against the Lions. He signed with the Bears April 28, returning for a second stint with the team. Jenkins played in eight games with one start for the Bears in 2017, recording eight tackles.
In addition to the Bears, he has also played for the Saints (2013-16), Seahawks (2016), Giants (2018) and Dolphins (2019). Last year, Jenkins appeared in all 16 games with five starts for Miami, registering 34 tackles, 1.0 sack and 2.0 tackles-for-loss.
Jenkins must remain on injured reserve for at least three games, meaning that he'd be eligible to be re-activated for the Oct. 18 road contest against the Panthers.
McCullers was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of Tennessee. The 6-7. 352-pounder appeared in 73 games with three starts with Pittsburgh from 2014-19, compiling 41 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 4.0 tackles-for-loss. McCullers spent the first two weeks of this season on the Steelers' practice squad.
The Bears were already thin at nose tackle even before Jenkins was injured; with regular starter Eddie Goldman having opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19.
