The Chicago Bears (and their fans) can breathe a sigh of relief, as ESPN Chicago reports on Monday that running back Matt Forte does not have a high ankle sprain. That news came from head coach Lovie Smith, who did confess that Forte was still sore following the 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, and gave that as the reason that the team re-signed Kahlil Bell.
Bears: Matt Forte Injury Is Not High Ankle Sprain
Smith told WBBM (780-AM):
Matt did go down with an ankle injury. It’s not a high ankle sprain, as has been reported. But right now, you know when you don’t finish the game and he still has some soreness, we’ll continue to monitor it, but we felt we needed another running back here, that’s why we brought back a guy who knows our system and has played good ball for us in Kahlil Bell.
Forte went down with an injury early in the game after being tackled by Green Bay defensive back Charles Woodson. To that point, he had seven carries for 31 yards, and it clearly hurt Chicago's ability to move the ball in the eventual loss to their NFC North rivals. A high ankle sprain would usually carry two to four weeks of inactivity, but without that official designation, the Bears could have Forte back without him having to miss any time.
Bringing back Bell is likely a sign that the Bears will take it easy on Forte in practice and use him sparingly, if at all, until gameday, provided he's active. Since the game was on Thursday, Forte has some extra time to rest his ankle in advance of the team's Week 3 matchup against the St. Louis Rams.
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