Bears receive bittersweet news right before kickoff against the Jaguars in London

Leading up to kickoff in London between the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bears got some bittersweet news on the injury front.

Starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was officially listed on the inactives list and will be out for Sunday's game. Stevenson injured his calf late in the week during practice and was listed as doubtful going into the weekend.

However, left guard Teven Jenkins will play and start for the Bears. Jenkins left the contest in Week 5 with an ankle injury and was questionable for Sunday's game.

Jenkins' return to the lineup will be a big boost for the offense and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams going up against the Jaguars defensive front, even though backup guard Bill Murray played great in Week 5 after Jenkins left the game.

As for the secondary, the Bears will now be without two young starters. Safety Jaquan Brisker was already ruled out earlier in the week and did not travel to London due to a concussion, and now Stevenson has been ruled out as well.

The Bears are expected to start Elijah Hicks at safety in place of Brisker and Jaylon Jones at cornerback in place of Stevenson. Both players have been with the team since 2022. To help with the depth concern in the secondary, the team also elevated safety Tarvarius Moore and cornerback Ameer Speed from the practice squad.

Sunday will be the first game of the season where a member of the Bears starting secondary was unable to play, but head coach Matt Eberflus is confident in his depth players stepping up in this game.

“The coaches do a great job of getting guys ready to go at every position," Eberflus said on Friday . "If it’s nickel, outside corner, strong safety, free safety, we always have a couple of guys ready to go there because when something like this happens, you’re ready and you’re not trying to teach guys things. Technique and fundamentals, assignments and all that. They already know that, and our coaches do a really good job with that and our players do a great job staying prepared and staying ready. And the guys that get their opportunity, if that’s the case, they will be ready to go.”

Another surprise on the inactives list was seeing Nate Davis' name pop up. Davis started the season for the Bears at right guard but has since been weeded out of the lineup with Matt Pryor taking his spot. Davis was not listed on the injury report at all this week, so it appears he's a healthy inactive.

Davis signed a 3-year $30 million deal with the Bears as a free agent prior to the 2023 season. This latest development is a tough look for him and the front office.

Related: NFL has Chicago's back after punishing Panthers player for hit that will cause key Bears starter to miss game vs. Jaguars