The Chicago Bears got a welcomed sight on the practice when Matt Forte came back as he continues to deal with a knee injury. The veteran running back has been dealing with a knee sprain that kept him out of Week 9 play as Jeremy Langford emerged as a potential backfield star for the franchise. As Forte gets back to practicing, will the Chicago Bears put him on the field in Week 10?
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Forte returned to practice on Thursday as he heals from a knee sprain. The running back participated in limited fashion while not wearing any kind of brace around the injury. While reports say he looked healthy, head coach John Fox is not expecting Forte to be on the field against the St. Louis Rams.
"He's been through it before," Fox said, via the Sun-Times. "Like a lot of players that have had similar injuries, they understand it and know how to rehab it better the second time around. He's still day-to-day, we'll kind of evaluate him. He's not full-go yet, but he's making progress."
Fox confirmed that Langford will be starting in Week 10 after putting up an impressive 142 yards of total offense and recording his first NFL touchdown. Langford has earned plenty of praise for his performance on Monday Night Football as the Bears need some consistency from the rookie if they are going to keep looking at him when Forte does return to the field.
"I thought he did very good," Fox said. "I mentioned Monday night after the game I thought he performed well in all parts of his duties, both as a pass receiver as well as a runner."
While the team is happy Langford is on the field and excelling, injuries are still haunting the roster. According to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com, Alshon Jeffery was not present at practice on Thursday as the receiver deals with a groin injury. Eddie Royal was also not at practice as he deals with a knee injury. Fox dismissed the idea saying Jeffery was injury prone as the wide receiver continues to be on and off the field this season. On the chance that both receivers are hurt for Sunday's game, pressure will mount on Cameron Meredith, Zach Miller and Martellus Bennett. Fox expects Jeffery to play in Week 10 while Royal could be missing at least one more game.
