Bilal Nichols broke his hand, not expected to play Monday

[Hogs]

Getty Images

It looks like the Bears will be down a defensive lineman for Monday night’s game against Washington.

Head coach Matt Nagy said on Thursday, via multiple reporters, that Bilal Nichols has a broken hand. That news comes a couple of days after Nagy said Nichols was still being evaluated for an injury he suffered in the first half against the Broncos last Sunday.

Nagy said at that time that the Bears did not expect Nichols would go on injured reserve and he said that the diagnosis of a broken bone has not changed that outlook. He said that Nichols could play with a club protecting his hand, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen for this week’s game.

Nichols played 43 snaps in the first two games as part of the defensive line rotation. He recorded two tackles and had 28 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles as a rookie in 2018.