Quarterback Brian Hoyer appears headed for a third consecutive start Sunday against the Colts after injured Jay Cutler (sprained ligament in right thumb) didn’t practice Wednesday. Cutler hasn’t practiced since last Wednesday.
‘‘He’s still doing rehab, so he’s working through that injury,’’ coach John Fox said.
Hoyer has a 103.3 passer rating (four touchdown passes, no interceptions) in two-plus games since Cutler was injured Sept. 19 against the Eagles at Soldier Field.
Hoyer completed 28 of 36 passes for 302 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 120.1 passer rating in a 17-14 victory Sunday against the Lions.
Cutler still out
There was one morsel of good news on a Bears’ injury list that grew to 16 on Wednesday — inside linebacker Danny Trevathan returned to practice, two weeks after having surgery to repair a sprained ligament in his right thumb.
Trevathan, a defensive captain who did not play against the Cowboys and Lions, still has a cast on his thumb and had limited participation in practice, but still could play Sunday against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“He looked good [Wednesday],” Bears coach John Fox said. “I think our medical people have done a good job as far as the protective cast for that thumb, so we’ll see where that goes. But he moved around well today.”
Moving around is not the problem, though. Tackling and shedding blockers require full use of the thumb. It remains to be seen if Trevathan can be effective with a cast — even a small one — on his thumb, as other players have tried to do.
“My experience has been that it hasn’t been good [playing with the cast],” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “But the protection he had on it today wasn’t as bulky as I thought it was going to be, so I think he’s got a chance.”
Not so sweet 16
The Bears had 16 players on their injury list Wednesday — including 12 starters. That’s nearly one third of the team’s 53-man roster.
Tight end Zach Miller (ribs), wide receiver Eddie Royal (calf), running back Jeremy Langford (ankle), nose tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle) and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd (calf) also did not practice.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, returned to practice but was limited.
Also limited were wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, outside linebacker Willie Young (knee), cornerback Tracy Porter (knee), guard Josh Sitton (shoulder), defensive end Jonathan Bullard (shoulder), inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (shoulder) and cornerback Sherrick McManis (hamstring).
“That’s a long list. About the same as last week,” coach John Fox said.
White is the fourth player to go on injured reserve, joining center Hroniss Grasu, cornerback Kyle Fuller, and outside linebacker Lamarr Houston. Additionally, outside linebacker Pernell McPhee (knee) and wide receiver Marquis Wilson (broken foot) are on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
“I think back in ’04 [with Carolina] we had about 18 guys on IR,” Fox said. “So I think that kind of broke the record and I am not sure you can even get close to that one but we’re still early.”
Swami Vic
Last year, Fangio predicted the Cubs would win the World Series, based on his history — the Giants won three World Series when he was with Stanford and the 49ers and the Astros reached their only World Series when he was with the Texans. “I bring good luck to baseball teams,” he said.
That luck, of course, ended when the Cubs were swept by the Mets in the NLCS. So what about now?
“The Cubs? I’m feeling pretty good about it,” Fangio said Wednesday. “I thought they were going to do it last year and then the termites hit the bat rack. They couldn’t hit the Mets pitching. We’ve got to get the Mets out of there [Wednesday night].”
Line continuity
Barring an injury in practice, the Bears will start the same five offensive linemen for the fifth consecutive game Sunday — left tackle Charles Leno, left guard Josh Sitton, center Cody Whitehair, right guard Kyle Long and right tackle Bobby Massie. That happened only once last season — from Weeks 11-15.
Class of One
With White on IR, safety Adrian Amos, a sixth-round pick, is the only player active from general manager Ryan Pace’s 2015 draft class. Goldman (second round) and Langford (fourth) are out with injuries and Grasu (third) is on IR with a torn ACL.
