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Bears put WR N’Keal Harry on injured reserve

Harry suffered a high ankle sprain during practice last month, prompting surgery and a belief he’d be ready to play in October.

By  Patrick Finley
   
SHARE Bears put WR N’Keal Harry on injured reserve
Chicago Bears wide receiver N’Keal Harry warms up at the NFL team’s practice facility in Lake Forest in July.

Bears wide receiver N’Keal Harry went on injured reserve Thursday.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The Bears put N’Keal Harry on injured reserve Thursday, creating an open roster spot but ensuring the wide receiver will miss at least the first four games of the season.

Harry suffered a high-ankle sprain during practice last month, prompting surgery and a belief he’d be ready to play in October. The IR trip was not a surprise, though head coach Matt Eberflus played coy about it Wednesday.

His injury further clouded the Bears’ receiving room, which is, on paper, one of the worst in the league. Byron Pringle and Velus Jones both remain out with injuries; Pringle, who entered the preseason as the Bears’ No. 2 receiver, has missed most of training camp.

In July, the Bears sent the Patriots a 2024 seventh-round pick for Harry, a former first-round draft pick who had disappointed during his time in New England.

Also Thursday, the Bears signed linebacker Joe Thomas, who spent training camp at Halas Hall, to their practice squad. They also added tackle Kellen Diesch, a rookie from Texas A&M who’d spent the preseason with the Dolphins.

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