Game statuses for Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Soldier Field.
The New England Patriots will visit the Chicago Bears down defensive captain Kyle Dugger.
The starting safety has been ruled out after remaining a non-participant for three consecutive practices. It will mark his third consecutive game missed due to an ankle injury that previously left him listed as limited and questionable.
“He’s still dealing with the ankle and, as you know, all injuries don’t heal the same way,” head coach Jerod Mayo said during his Friday press conference. “He’s still dealing with those things and we’ll see how it goes going forward.”
Linebacker Christian Elliss, who stayed sidelined throughout the week with an abdomen injury, has also been ruled out.
Here’s the rest of the game statuses heading into Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Soldier Field.
OUT
Patriots
- LB Christian Elliss (abdomen)
- S Kyle Dugger (ankle)
Bears
- OT Darnell Wright (knee)
- OT Braxton Jones (knee)
- OT Kiran Amegadjie (calf)
- S Jaquan Brisker (concussion)
“He’ll be back this year for sure, yeah,” Mayo added of Dugger, who stands with 35 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble through six appearances this campaign. As for Elliss, a back-to-back starter, he had been questionable last week due to an abdomen injury and went on to play a reduced 58 percent of the defensive snaps. On the Bears’ side of the aisle, four members of the active roster have been ruled out for the matinee, including a trio of offensive linemen.
QUESTIONABLE
Patriots
- OT Vederian Lowe (shoulder)
- G Michael Jordan (ankle)
- G Layden Robinson (ankle)
- DT Daniel Ekuale (abdomen)
- DT Jaquelin Roy (neck)
- CB Alex Austin (ankle — IR return)
- S Marte Mapu (neck)
Bears
- G Ryan Bates (shoulder — IR return)
- DE Darrell Taylor (knee)
- LB Noah Sewell (knee)
Seven stand as questionable for the Patriots. Four of the seven practiced in full on Friday, including Austin, whose 21-day activation window opened last week after spending all of October on injured reserve due to an ankle issue. Lowe at left tackle, Roy at defensive tackle and Mapu at safety marked the group’s lone limited participants to conclude preparations.
Elsewhere, defensive end Keion White and linebacker Sione Takitaki will go without game designations for New England. The same goes for off-the-ball starter Jahlani Tavai, who was absent on Friday due to personal reasons.