Robert Tonyan Jr. Added to Injury Report with Back Issue

No doubt the first game of the season carries a little more significance for Bears tight end Robert Tonyan Jr. because it's against his former team.

Now it's possible he might not get the opportunity to face the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field.

The Bears had a Saturday addendum to what had been an almost perfect injury report and it's Tonyan, who has back soreness after Friday's practice. He is now on the injury report listed as questionable for the 3:25 p.m. game

Tonyan is a McHenry, IL native who played his first five seasons in Green Bay and made 137 receptions for 1,437 yards with 17 touchdowns. He fits into the Bears offense as the second tight end behind Cole Kmet and in multiple tight end formations plays the move tight end spot while Kmet plays the in-line spot.

As a result, the Bears have elevated tight end Stephen Carlson from the practice squad to the active roster by standard elevation. Carlson is a free agent and former Princeton player who had been with the Browns in 2019 and 2020 and wasn't on a team after his contract expired following the 2021 season.

The Bears also elevated linebacker DeMarquis Gates with standard elevation from the practice squad.

The only player on their injury report before Saturday was linebacker Dylan Cole and he has been injured throughout much of the preseason and training camp with a hamstring issue. 

On Saturday, they terminated their contract with Cole, who is a vested veteran after four seasons in Houston and two in Tennessee.

Rookie Noah Sewell now figures to be the first linebacker off the bench after starters Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Jack Sanborn.