LAKE FOREST – For a position that’s already shorthanded due to an injury to the starter, the Bears were dealt another blow to their running back room on Thursday afternoon.
This time it’s due to the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
The Bears announced that running back Damien Williams has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, putting his status for Sunday’s game against the Packers at Soldier Field in doubt.
If he can’t go, third-string running back Khalil Herbert would get the snaps with the first team with Ryan Nall likely serving as his backup. Starter David Montgomery is on injured reserve after injuring his knee in Week 4 against the Lions.
Williams has 32 carries for 137 yards (4.3 per carry average) with two touchdown in five games in his first season with the Bears. In his first start of the season against the Raiders last Sunday, the running back had 64 yards on 64 carries with a score in the 20-9 win.
Herbert, a sixth-round pick from Virginia Tech in the 2021 NFL Draft, had 18 carries for 75 yards against Las Vegas last week after carrying the ball just three times the week before against the Lions. Nall would figure to back him up if he can’t go with the possibility that practice squad running back Artavis Pierce could be elevated to the active roster if Williams is out for Sunday.