Bears LB Floyd to miss remainder of season with knee injury
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was placed on injured reserve Thursday by the Chicago Bears, ending his season because of a knee injury.
Floyd suffered the injury Sunday in a 27-24 loss at Soldier Field to the Detroit Lions. He was attempting to make a tackle on a running play and collided with teammate Kyle Fuller.
Bears coach John Fox said Monday that Floyd did not suffer a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but the damage to the knee is severe enough to keep him from playing again this season.
Floyd, the ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft, had 4½ sacks this season and had seven as a rookie.
The Bears have promoted outside linebacker Howard Jones from their practice squad to take Floyd’s spot on the 53-man roster. Jones had five sacks in 2016 with Tampa Bay. The 6-4, 238-pound Jones played last season with Tampa Bay, as well, but suffered a season-ending torn ACL in November.
The Bears have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Demarcus Ayers to their practice squad. Ayers had six catches for 53 yards with a touchdown last season in two games with Pittsburgh.
Panthers’ Olsen nears activation
After back-to-back, full-workload days, the only thing between Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and his return to the football field is a couple of nights’ sleep.
Carolina could officially activate Olsen off of injured reserve at any time before Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. Final injury reports for the week come out Friday, and actives and inactives are released 90 minutes before the start of each game.
But barring a setback, it seems Olsen will suit up for the first time since he broke his foot in Week 2.
Quarterback Cam Newton was limited for a second day, with soreness in his right thumb. He has been wearing a fingerless compression glove on his throwing hand.
Odds and ends
Jets running back Matt Forte (knee) did not practice again and remains uncertain to play against Carolina. He missed the Jets’ last game against Tampa Bay with swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. … Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (Achilles) returned to practice after missing Wednesday’s session. He was limited Thursday. … Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring) and tight end Vance McDonald (ankle) did not practice. … Titans receiver Rishard Matthews was added to the injury report with a hamstring issue. He was limited in practice. … Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (ankle) returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday.