Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The Bears made five roster moves Tuesday, all involving their offensive line.
They put veterans Germain Ifedi and Jason Spriggs on the reserve/COVID-19 list, placed right tackle Bobby Massie on injured reserve, promoted Lachavious Simmons from the practice squad to the active roster, and signed Aaron Neary to the practice squad.
The new reserve/COVID-19 list category was created this year for players who either test positive for the coronavirus or who have been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person.
Ifedi has started all eight games this season at right guard. He signed with the Bears during the offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Seahawks. The 6-5, 340-pounder was selected by Seattle with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Texas A&M.
Spriggs, who also joined the Bears this offseason, saw his first action of the season on the offensive line in Sunday's loss to the Saints, entering the contest at right tackle after Massie hurt his knee on the Bears' opening possession. Spriggs appeared in 36 games with nine starts over three seasons with the Packers from 2016-18 before missing the 2019 campaign with an injury.
By being placed on injured reserve, Massie must sit out a minimum of three games, meaning he will miss contests against the Titans, Vikings and Packers and be eligible to return Dec. 6 when the Bears host the Lions.
Massie became the Bears' third starting offensive lineman to be sidelined with an injury. Left guard James Daniels is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Center Cody Whitehair missed the first game of his five-year NFL career against the Saints due to a calf injury he sustained six days earlier in a Monday night loss to the Rams. Daniels and Whitehair have been replaced by Rashaad Coward and Sam Mustipher, respectively.
Simmons was selected by the Bears in the seventh round of this year's draft out of Tennessee State and has spent the first eight weeks of the season on the practice squad.
Neary has appeared in one NFL regular-season game since entering the league in 2016 as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Washington. He started the 2017 season finale for the Rams, who rested several starters in advance of the playoffs. Neary has also spent time with the Broncos, Eagles and Browns.