Bears rumors: Khalil Herbert trade, Matt Eberflus hot seat, injury updates

For the past nine or so days, there's been little to celebrate if you're a fan of the Chicago Bears. The team has dropped both of its games to fall to 4-4, and the vibes have taken a decided turn for the worse. One of those losses came on a last-second Hail Mary, while the other was a 20-point loss that was never even close.

In the immediate aftermath of giving up that Hail Mary, most people in the football world said something to the effect of, "That's the worst way to lose," but I would argue that not scoring a touchdown against a subpar defense and never really being in the game is worse. If you're going to lose either way, at least make it exciting.

Bears fans need something to distract them from the product they've been watching on the field, and luckily we have a confluence of events happening today to take our minds off of the fact that the playoffs seem to be slipping away.

It's trade deadline day, one of Bears GM Ryan Poles' favorite holidays. There are also a multitude of Bears injuries to keep track of — some old and some new, and the ever-tenuous status of Matt Eberflus as Bears head coach. Let's all enter the rumor mill together, shall we?

Ryan Poles got deadline day started, and he may not be done yet

The Bears made the first move of the trade deadline when they sent Khalil Herbert to the Bengals for a seventh-round pick. Herbert has been with the Bears for the entirety of his four-year career, but despite a 4.8 yards per carry average, he fell out of favor this year after the Bears signed D'Andre Swift in free agency and elevated second-year back Roschon Johnson to the number two spot behind him.

Herbert only has eight carries on the season, but he'll get a chance to contribute more on a Bengals team that is hurting in the backfield. Zach Moss is out indefinitely with a neck injury, which has left Chase Brown to absorb almost all of the running back workload.

Brown carried the ball a career-high 27 times this past week, and he was on the field for 79 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps. Bringing Herbert in will allow Zac Taylor to more evenly distribute the backfield touches, and Herbert should thrive in Cincy's high-scoring offense.

For the Bears, a seventh-round pick isn't much to get in return, but it's better than nothing for a player they weren't using anyway. Guard Nate Davis, who lost his starting job earlier this year, is also expected to be moved to a team that needs offensive line depth, so keep an eye on him today.

As far as players the Bears could bring in to help them now, offensive line is the most likely target, for two reasons. One, the Bears are wracked with injuries up front, and two, even when healthy, the line has been the weakest link on the team this year. It's in Poles' best interest to keep Caleb Williams upright, so if a solid lineman, especially one signed beyond this year, becomes available, expect Poles to pounce.

Matt Eberflus' seat is getting warm

Once the first NFL head coach firing of the season happens, it usually opens the floodgates for more. With Dennis Allen being let go as coach of the Saints in the midst of their seven-game losing streak, that turns up the heat even more on Matt Eberflus, who should already be worried based on what we've seen the past couple of weeks.

Eberflus has not had a good fortnight. His complete mismanagement at the end of the Commanders game, from allowing an easy completion to put Washington in Hail Mary range, to not using a timeout before the final play, cost the Bears the game. A good coach would have lifted his team up the following week, but the Bears turned in their most listless performance of the season in Arizona, which seems to be a sure sign that he's losing the locker room.

DJ Moore didn't exactly give Eberflus a ringing endorsement in a radio interview on Monday:

News came out last week that Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel, would have been interested in the Bears job if it opened up last year, which only poured salt in the wounds of Bears fans who have had to watch Eberflus continue to struggle.

Eberflus has insisted on doubling down on some of his worst decisions, including leaving Caleb Williams in at the end of this week's blowout loss, during which his star rookie tweaked his ankle and was seen limping as the game ended.

After Sunday's loss, Eberflus is now 14-28 with the Bears, and only 3-18 on the road. Chicago hosts the 2-7 Patriots this week, which could be a good opportunity to "get right." Conversely, losing at home to one of the worst teams in the NFL could be the final nail in Eberflus' coffin.

Bears early-week injury update

After the Bears play the Patriots this coming Sunday, the schedule toughens up in a big way. To have a chance at making a run, the team needs to be a lot healthier than it currently is.

The Bears were without multiple critical pieces on Sunday, including Montez Sweat, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon and Braxton Jones. To make matters worse, several other Bears were knocked out of the game with new injuries.

Darnell Wright suffered a sprained MCL, further weakening the offensive line. Terell Smith, who started in place of Tyrique Stevenson in the wake of Stevenson's demotion for his Hail Mary antics against the Commanders, injured his ankle in the first half and didn't return. Andrew Billings was also forced out with a chest injury in the third quarter.

Most frightening of all was Caleb Williams appearing to tweak his ankle at the end of the game, though it doesn't seem that his status is in doubt for the Patriots game.

DJ Moore was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons after he walked off the field in the middle of a play and sat on the bench before Caleb Williams had even thrown the ball. Moore appeared to have rolled his ankle and was definitely limping as he headed off, so even though the optics of it were bad, I'm willing to give the veteran wideout the benefit of the doubt. Moore didn't have his best day, catching four of nine targets for 33 yards, but the fact that he was able to remain in the game is a good sign.

The Bears won't release their official injury report until Wednesday, but Bears fans will want to keep a close eye on it to see just how banged up the team will be against New England.