Patriots Rule Out Both Starting Guards and Carlton Davis for Thursday Night Football as the Bears Lose Kyle Monangai Again

The New England Patriots will play Thursday night in Chicago without both of their starting guards. The team ruled out five players on Wednesday: guards Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and Ben Brown (knee), and cornerbacks Carlton Davis III (neck), Karon Prunty (hamstring) and Channing Canada (hamstring), according to the official report and coverage from ESPN, the Boston Globe and Pro Football Talk.

The Bears have their own absences. Running back Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe) and linebacker Jack Sanborn (concussion) are out, linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) is doubtful on the official reports, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) is questionable. Kickoff at Soldier Field is 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

New England's rebuilt interior

Vera-Tucker and Brown were both hurt in Sunday's 26-19 win over the New York Jets, and the short week left no time to recover. Head coach Mike Vrabel said Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse will start at guard on either side of center Jared Wilson, with Will Campbell at left tackle.

Right tackle is the remaining question. Morgan Moses is questionable with a foot injury after being limited in practice, though Vrabel said he has a chance to play. If Moses cannot go, first-round rookie Caleb Lomu is the expected replacement, which would leave New England with backups at three of its five line spots.

The good news for New England's offense is at the skill positions. Receiver A.J. Brown is off the injury report after a full practice Wednesday, and quarterback Drake Maye, who has been managing a right shoulder issue, was a full participant all week without a game status.

A thin Patriots secondary

Davis will miss his third straight game and fourth of the season, and losing Prunty and Canada at the same time strips New England's cornerback depth. Christian Gonzalez is not on the report, but the Patriots will lean on Marcus Jones and Charles Woods in expanded roles, per Patriots.com. Both starting safeties, Kevin Byard III (chest) and Craig Woodson (shoulder), are questionable, which adds more uncertainty behind the corners.

That is a meaningful opening for Caleb Williams and the Chicago passing game. Teams facing a secondary this depleted tend to attack the third and fourth cornerbacks.

Chicago without Monangai

Monangai will miss his third straight game. He had 60 carries for 324 yards and three touchdowns in four games before the injury, and head coach Ben Johnson has called the injury week to week while ruling out injured reserve. Reports point to Chicago's Week 8 Monday night trip to Seattle as the earliest realistic return.

D'Andre Swift is expected to handle the majority of the backfield work again, with Roschon Johnson as the No. 2 back in short-yardage and power situations. Right guard Jonah Jackson, who left last week's win with hip and quadriceps issues, has no game designation and is set to play, per the team.

The Bears are also still without edge rusher Montez Sweat, who is serving the second game of a two-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing substances policy. He becomes eligible for reinstatement Friday, Oct. 23.

Fantasy fallout

Swift is a confident RB2 tonight. With Monangai out, his touch share should be secure, and New England's linebacker group is dealing with its own questions, with Christian Elliss (chest) questionable. Roschon Johnson is only a deep-league touchdown dart.

On the Patriots side, the guard injuries are the key variable for Maye. A rebuilt interior is most vulnerable to interior pressure, which tends to shorten a quarterback's dropbacks and push targets toward quick throws. That shift helps A.J. Brown less than it helps short-area targets, but Brown's full practice and lack of a designation keep him a WR2 with upside. Maye remains a QB1 in a week with four teams on bye, though his ceiling is lower behind this line.

The New England running game takes the clearest hit. Backup guards against a healthy Chicago front make it harder for New England to run the ball consistently, and managers starting a Patriots back tonight should temper expectations.

Betting angle

Both teams enter at 4-2. The line opened at Bears -2.5 and has moved to 3 at most books, with some briefly reaching 3.5, according to Covers and Sports Illustrated. The total has climbed even more, from 47.5 to roughly 50 points depending on the book, a move that predates part of Wednesday's injury news.

The injury report supports the direction the market has already taken. A depleted New England secondary helps Chicago's passing game, and a rebuilt Patriots interior line is a concern for Maye's efficiency. Bettors of legal betting age in their jurisdiction should check the final inactive list about 90 minutes before kickoff, with Moses' status the last significant variable on the board.

Recent history and venue split the other way. New England has won six of the last seven meetings with Chicago, including a 19-3 win in the most recent one in 2024, and the Patriots are 1-2 on the road this season while the Bears are 2-1 at home. Those trends matter less than tonight's personnel, but they are a reminder that the Patriots have handled this matchup well in the past.

Verdexed's game outlook is available at /nfl/predictions, and the full week is covered at /blog/nfl-week-7-picks-2026.

What's next

The inactive lists will settle Moses, Byard, Woodson and Edwards. After tonight, the Patriots get extra rest heading into Week 8, which gives Vera-Tucker and Brown a longer window to return. For Chicago, the next milestone is Sweat's reinstatement Friday and Monangai's progress ahead of the Nov. 2 Monday night game at Seattle.