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Ben Johnson Provides Updates on Darnell Wright and Austin Booker
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- Ben Johnson Provides Updates on Darnell Wright and Austin Booker
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson stood in the beating sun ahead of his team's joint practice against the Tenneseee Titans.
A big topic of discussion before Thursday's practice was the status on some key members of the team, including right tackle Darnell Wright and defensive linemen Austin Booker and Gervon Dexter Sr.
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Wright exited Tuesday's practice early with a right elbow injury, but he did return the following day. Johnson provided an explanation on his status.
"It was a reaggravation of some things that went on last year," Johnson said. "He was back out there yesterday and I think he'll be an active participant today.
That's a positive sign for the Bears' right tackle, as the team heads into the final week of the preseason. This joint practice will provide Wright with some valuable reps if he does not practice in Saturday's game.
Booker last practiced against the Bengals in the joint practice on Aug. 20. Johnson highlighted that Booker is "banged up" and he's "working through a groin and it will be more week to week in terms of his availability."
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The Bears' edge rusher also sustained an injury last year in preseason during the game against the Buffalo Bills. A "week to week" designation could be worse, but it doesn't help that a key member of the D-line will be out for some time. This will allow players like Daniel Hardy and Jamree Kromah to get some quality reps against the Titans.
Dexter left Tuesday's practice early and didn't make the trip to Nashville. The Bears' interior defensive lineman is dealing with a hamstring injury. Interesting timing for Dexter, as Jordan Schultz reported that the Bears have had trade discussions involving Dexter, and "there are multiple scenarios where a deal could get done sending him to a new team," according to Schultz.
Rookie sixth-round draft pick Jordan van den Berg will likely gets more reps with the first-team defense with Dexter sidelined.
One player who hasn't practiced yet is edge rusher Marcus Davenport. Johnson shared why the newest member of the Bears' D-line has yet to hit the practice field.
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"He's not dealing with anything," Johnson said. "We want to make sure we are being smart with him. He's a player that's missed a lot of time over the last three years and so he's being integrated into the program, conditioning to strength program, drill work and we're slowly ramping into it."
