Bears left guard Chris Williams is expected to miss the remainder of the season, after injuring his wrist in the second quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Detroit Lions.
It’s a significant blow to the Bears, since Williams was one of the more consistent players on the unit. Williams, a former first-round pick who was drafted to play offensive tackle, had seemingly found a home at left guard.
Bears coach Lovie Smith said Williams had surgery Sunday night, and he didn’t know how long he’d be out. But, a league source said Williams has what’s believed to be a dislocated wrist — the same injury that cost Brian Urlacher 15 games in 2009. Urlacher also required immediate surgery.
Edwin Williams finished the game at left guard.
But, if rookie Gabe Carimi can get healthy, the Bears may move Lance Louis from right tackle to left guard. Louis has filled in admirably at right tackle, but Carimi was playing better than any offensive lineman when he got hurt in Week 2, offensive line coach Mike Tice said in September.
“We’ve battled from some offensive line stuff this year already,” quarterback Jay Cutler said. “Losing him is going to hurt. He was kind of one of our anchors in there… He’s been playing really well as of late, so we’re going to have to fill a big void there.”
Overall, it was a rough night for the Bears offensive line, against one of the league’s better defensive lines. Cutler was sacked twice, and the Bears averaged just 3.1 yards per run.
