An injury-besieged Bears receiving corps encounters more hurdles after the team decided to place third-year target Marquess Wilson on injured reserve, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports (on Twitter).
The Bears signed cornerback Demontre Hurst from their practice squad to fill Wilson’s roster spot.
Wilson sustained a foot injury at practice last week, and it will bring an end to his best season thus far. The former seventh-round flier caught 28 passes for 464 yards and a touchdown prior to going down during a mid-week workout.
A unit that’s already been without first-rounder Kevin White throughout the season, Eddie Royal for most of it and Alshon Jeffery at key junctures turned to Wilson at times to patch up the group. The Bears are down to several backups at their skill positions after also placing Martellus Bennett on IR earlier this week.
The 23-year-old Washington State product started six games, just as he did a season ago, but saw his place in the Bears’ pecking order rise after drawing 51 targets (Wilson’s previous high was 32 in 2014) in 11 games. Wilson, who will enter a contract year in 2016, caught four passes for a season-best 102 yards against the Broncos’ No. 1-ranked defense last month.
Hurst’s played in 18 games with Chicago since 2013. The 24-year-old undrafted free agent from Oklahoma will make a roster appearance thanks to rookie UDFA corner Bryce Callahan‘s questionable designation.