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Eddie Goldman is ruled out for the Chicago Bears’ Week 3 game because of a knee injury

brad biggs, chicago tribune
·2 min read

Nose tackle Eddie Goldman will not play Sunday when the Chicago Bears face the Browns in Cleveland.

It will be the third game Goldman has missed since suffering a knee injury Sept. 6 in preparation for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

It looked as if Goldman had a chance to play each of the last two games. Coach Matt Nagy called him “arrow up” three days before the home opener Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, but Goldman wound up sitting out the Bears’ 20-17 win.

Goldman was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday this week before being held out Friday. The Bears listed him as questionable and then downgraded him to out Saturday afternoon, announcing he did not travel with the team to Cleveland.

It has been a frustrating two months for all involved after Goldman opted out of the 2020 season because of concerns for COVID-19. He last played in a game on Dec. 22, 2019, a Week 16 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Literally with him (it) is a day-to-day deal,” Nagy said Friday. “It’s been week to week. It’s day to day and I think for him, just making sure that we have him where we want him and he feels to how he wants to feel.”

Goldman did not participate in the voluntary offseason program and skipped mandatory minicamp in June, incurring a $93,085 fine and raising questions about his commitment to the team. A positive test for COVID-19 in the first week of August sidelined Goldman for 10 days. After returning, he missed practice time with a back injury.

Because Goldman missed so much time in training camp, the Bears started him in the preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 28, and he played 10 snaps.

Playing without the premier run-stuffer will test a Bears defense preparing to face Browns running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The Bears do expect to have defensive lineman Akiem Hicks after he was out ill Wednesday and Thursday, and Mario Edwards Jr. is back from a two-game suspension and ready to play.

To address depth on the defensive line, the team flexed veteran Margus Hunt from the practice squad. He played a limited role against the Bengals.