The New England Patriots (4-2) are slowly returning to health, even if their list of reported absences for Thursday night’s primetime clash against the Chicago Bears (4-2) looks bleak in some spots. 

Now under 90 minutes until kickoff, each team has finalized their lists of game day inactives, revealing which players will — and won’t — be suiting up on a short week of rest. New England and Chicago will both be missing key pieces on offense and defense, creating several matchups that will be worth monitoring when the action gets underway.

Here’s who’s in — and out — of the Patriots’ Week 7 tilt against the Bears:

The following players on New England’s’ 53-man roster will not be active tonight:

The Patriots will be thin along the interior of the offensive line without the services of left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring, placed on injured reserve on October 22) and right guard Ben Brown (knee), who both exited the team’s Week 6 victory over the New York Jets due to injury. Without each of those players in the lineup, it is expected that Walter Rouse (left guard) and Matt Pryor (right guard) will start in Brown and Vera-Tucker’s place after taking over for them in Week 6 and allowing no sacks. New England also continues to manage adverse conditions in their secondary, as Carlton Davis III (neck), Channing Canada (hamstring), and Karon Prunty (hamstring) will each be inactive for the third consecutive week.

Chicago will not be dressing the following players on Thursday night:

While the Patriots most decimated position groups are along the offensive trenches and the defensive perimeter, the Bears will be dealing with the losses of two off-ball linebackers with T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and Jack Sanborn (concussion) each ruled out. Running back Kyle Monangai’s (thumb/toe) status may have the biggest impact on the game, however, as the former seventh-round pick in 2025 has become the spell for D’Andre Swift in the Chicago backfield and last saw the field on October 4 against New York — when he carried the ball 30 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

New England’s lengthy Week 7 injury report extended far beyond the six inactive players that were revealed for Thursday night, with several other questionable designations that should be monitored after kickoff:

The Patriots initially listed four players as questionable against the Bears: Kevin Byard III (chest), Christian Elliss (chest), Morgan Moses (foot), and Craig Woodson (shoulder). Christian Gonzalez wasn't originally listed, but was added on Thursday with an illness.

Moses left New England’s win over the Jets with a reported ankle injury and logged limited participation in practice this week, but had previously been listed with the foot issue that appeared on the team’s injury report. Unlike Brown and Vera-Tucker, head coach Mike Vrabel expressed confidence in Moses’ chances to rejoin the lineup for Week 7 — although it remains to be seen just how involved Caleb Lomu will be in providing relief for the veteran.

In contrast to their game day statuses, Byard, Elliss, and Woodson were all full participants during the week of practice. Elliss and Woodson have carried questionable tags into action in each of the last three weeks, but have played in all of those games. Byard is the new addition to this group, but will take the field against his former team under the lights.

Earlier this week, the Patriots placed Romeo Doubs (shoulder) on injured reserve — their 20th addition to the list this season after placing just 16 players on injured reserve in all of 2025.

They made their 21st addition to injured reserve just before kickoff, placing Vera-Tucker on the list after he suffered a hamstring injury against New York.

New England also listed several additional names on this week’s practice report who did not carry injury designations into game day: A.J. Brown (ankle), Marcus Bryant (ankle; designated to return from injured reserve, but not yet activated to the 53-man roster), Andy Borregales (personal), Will Campbell (knee), Joshua Farmer (personal), TreVeyon Henderson (ankle), Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), and Drake Maye (right shoulder).

The Bears will be returning three players into their lineup for Thursday night: linebacker Keyshaun Elliott (quadricep), guard Jonah Jackson (hip/quadricep), and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip).

Elliott will provide a boost to a thinning off-ball linebacking corps for Chicago after last seeing the field in Week 5, while Stevenson will reclaim his role as a starting outside corner after missing Week 6. Jackson worked his way back into the lineup quickly for the Bears — he did not participate in Monday’s walkthrough, was a limited participant on Tuesday, and a full participant on Wednesday — and has not missed any game time as one of the top guards in the league this year.

These players were called-up from the practice squad for Thursday night:

The Patriots signed safety Elliott Davison to the 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier this week, and made two more game day elevations: guard Xavier Newman-Johnson and edge rusher Benton Whitley.

Newman-Johnson was initially signed to New England's practice squad on September 17. The five-year veteran began his career as an undrafted free agent with Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans in 2022 before signing with the Jets in 2023. He’s played in 25 career regular season games with four starts, and has experience playing both guard spots and center during that time. It is his first elevation of the season with the Patriots.

Whitley — a native of Springfield, Massachusetts — also entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Most recently with the Cleveland Browns, Whitley has made stops with the Los Angeles Rams (2022), Kansas City Chiefs (2022), Minnesota Vikings (2022-23), New York Giants (2023-24), Arizona Cardinals (2024) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2025). He’s appeared in six regular season games with one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. Thursday night will be his first elevation for New England.

The Bears also elevated two players for game day: linebacker Buddy Johnson and running back Zavier Scott.

Johnson entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick (No. 140 overall) for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021 and has played in 33 career regular season games through multiple stops. Primarily a special teamer, he’s made 23 career special teams tackles and has appeared in one game with Chicago this season.

Scott was originally an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 and has appeared in 18 career regular season games, including 16 with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 and two with the Bears this season. Tonight will be his third elevation of the season for Chicago.

What are your predictions for Thursday night’s primetime showdown between the Patriots and Bears? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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