The only thing worse than being as unproven at wide receiver as the Bears are is being thin.
They’re headed in that direction after a couple of tough practices Friday and Saturday. N’Keal Harry suffered an injury to his left leg or ankle on the first play of team drills. He couldn’t put any weight on the leg and had to be helped off the field by a member of the training staff and teammate Dazz Newsome.
After practice, coach Matt Eberflus said the team is evaluating the injury and said he had no information on the extent of it.
The Bears already were without Byron Pringle (quad), rookie Velus Jones (undisclosed) and Dante Pettis (undisclosed), who suffered injuries Friday. Jones is day-to-day, according to Eberflus. Pringle might be out longer, but Eberflus said he doesn’t think he will miss any regular-season games.
‘‘It’s longer than day-to-day, so that’s all I can say [about Pringle’s injury], but no real timetable to return,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘But we’re hopeful that it’s a good situation for us.’’
Pringle is the most productive receiver on the Bears’ roster behind Darnell Mooney, the clear No. 1. The 6-4, 224-pound Harry was acquired in a trade July 13 with the Patriots and is getting an opportunity to give quarterback Justin Fields a big-target receiver.
More injuries
Rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon (undisclosed) missed his second consecutive practice.
Rookie offensive tackle Braxton Jones left practice with an undisclosed injury. He returned to the field but didn’t participate.
‘‘Braxton’s gonna be fine,’’ Eberflus said.
Center Lucas Patrick (broken thumb), cornerbacks Kindle Vildor (undisclosed) and Thomas Graham Jr. (hamstring), defensive tackle Angelo Blackson (undisclosed), tight end James O’Shaughnessy (undisclosed), linebacker Noah Dawkins (undisclosed) and offensive tackle Julien Davenport (undisclosed) didn’t practice.
Sharpe steps up
With Harry out, wiry veteran Tajae Sharpe made a pair of nice receptions in traffic on passes from quarterback Justin Fields.
‘‘When you have a guy step up like that, that’s awesome,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘That’s what it’s all about, right? Guys go down, guys step up, and Tajae did a nice job.’’
The 6-4, 194-pound Sharpe, who had 25 receptions for 230 yards and no touchdowns last season with the Falcons, opened camp on the physically unable-to-perform list but was activated Tuesday.
Rookie starter at left tackle?
Despite Jones missing most of practice, it still looks as though the starting job will be his to lose in the preseason.
‘‘Braxton was a guy that is obviously a super-athletic kid that we were excited about after spring ball,’’ offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. ‘‘Then you get into pads, and there was zero intimidation. Going against [veteran defensive end] Robert Quinn [on] your very first one-on-one pass rush, it’s an intimidating thing. He did a great job. He answered the bell. He’s done a really nice job for us.’’
