Bears offensive line is an even bigger mess heading into Week 9

Offensive line has been one of the biggest concerns for the Chicago Bears this season. And that was when all five starters were in place on the line. But now, the Bears are facing a new struggle on the offensive line: Injuries.

A couple of weeks ago, the biggest concern was left guard James Daniels’ season being cut short with a torn pectoral muscle. Now, center Cody Whitehair’s status is up-in-the-air as he recovers from a calf injury that Matt Nagy doesn’t expect to be long-term.

Then right tackle Bobby Massie suffered a knee injury against the Saints, and he was placed on injured reserve where he won’t be eligible to return until Dec. 6 against the Detroit Lions.

For the longest time, the concerns on the offensive line stemmed from the performance on the field, where they struggled in run blocking and pass protection. Things couldn’t possibly get worse for the unit.

But then Tuesday happened.

Offensive tackle Jason Spriggs tested positive for COVID-19, and right guard Germain Ifedi was said to be one of those in close contact with him. Both were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, although it’s still possible Ifedi could suit up for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

As a result of both Massie being placed on IR and the COVID scare, the Bears promoted seventh-round rookie Lachavious Simmons to the active roster and signed Aaron Neary to the practice squad.

If Ifedi can’t go, as expected, here’s what the Bears’ offensive line could look like on Sunday:

To make matters worse, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that center Sam Mustipher, who was filling in for Whitehair, played through an injury suffered against the Saints, and Mustipher is expected to miss some time, which means things could look a whole lot different depending on the status of Whitehair and Mustipher.

There’s no doubt that the offensive line will be a major storyline to follow this week heading into Sunday’s game against the Titans. And an already-struggling offensive line could look a whole lot worse come Week 9.

• Fighting Irish Wire: ND coverage from USA TODAY Network