The Chicago Bears made a few roster moves on Wednesday and the biggest was placing return man DeAndre Carter on injured reserve, ending his season.
Carter suffered a hamstring injury against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the team's 38-13 loss.
Josh Blackwell will likely fill in for the rest of the season at kick and punt return position, as he did so following Carter's exit from the game this past weekend.
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Carter finishes the year with nine catches for 72 receiving yards in 13 games played. He also had 158 punt return yards on 17 returns and 479 yards on 15 attempt. He finishes with an average of 31.9 yards per kick return, which ranks second-highest among kick returners who have returned at least 10 kicks this season.
In another move, the Bears have also signed former Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Jonathan Ford from their practice squad to the active roster to replace Carter's spot.
Ford was selected by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He only served on the team's practice squad during his time in Wisconsin but the 25-year-old could now get a shot to play in his first NFL game with four games left on the schedule for the Bears.
Additionally, the Bears also signed running back Royce Freeman to its practice squad. Freeman is a 2018 former third-round pick and has spent time with the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams and now the Bears.
Chicago has some injuries impacting the running back room after Week 14, as Roschon Johnson is in concussion protocol and D'Andre Swift being limited in practice last week.
The Bears (4-9) will look to end their seven-game losing streak on "Monday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) at U.S. Bank Stadium on Dec. 16.
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This story was originally published December 12, 2024, 12:40 AM.