Caleb Williams in trouble: Bears to play without starting offensive tackles Sunday

LAKE FOREST – The Chicago Bears will be without both of their starting offensive tackles when they take the field against the New England Patriots on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Both left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright have been ruled out with knee injuries. The Bears also ruled out rookie offensive tackle Kiran Amegadji, a top backup at the position, due to a calf injury.

The Bears offensive line could be in trouble. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams could be in for a long day because of the injuries on his offensive line.

If there's any good news it's that head coach Matt Eberflus announced interior lineman Ryan Bates will return from injured reserve. Bates has not played since Week 1. He has been out since then with a shoulder injury.

What the Bears are likely to do with their lineup is insert Bates at right guard. Matt Pryor, who has been playing right guard, could kick over to right tackle in place of Wright. Pryor has the size to play tackle. Larry Borom would then start at left tackle for the second consecutive game in place of Jones.

So the starting offensive line could look like this: Borom at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton at center, Bates at right guard and Pryor at right tackle. If Bates is not quite ready to go, backup guards Nate Davis or Doug Kramer could be available to play right guard.

The injuries at tackle are pretty much the worst-case scenario for a Bears team in desperate need of a win. The Bears have lost two games in a row. Last week, the Arizona Cardinals sacked Williams six times. Having two backups protecting a rookie quarterback is never a good thing.

The Bears are especially in need of a win when considering the upcoming schedule. They have matchups against the Packers, Vikings and Lions in that order over the next three weeks. Each of those NFC North division opponents has at least six wins already.

In other injury news, Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat (shin) is expected to return after missing last week's game. Also returning is cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring), who hasn't played since Week 6 in London. Those are much-needed reinforcements for the Bears defense.

In addition to the three tackles who were ruled out, starting safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) will miss his fourth consecutive games since hitting his head on Oct. 6 against Carolina. This is the third known concussion Brisker has dealt with in his three-year NFL career. Brisker hasn't practiced since the injury occurred.

Defensive end Darrell Taylor, linebacker Noah Sewell and Bates are all listed as questionable. Bates will likely be activated to the 53-man roster on Saturday. The Bears are currently at 52 players, so they won't have to release anyone in order to add Bates.