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great find, thank you! Considering that they opened the window for him on Friday, and that he is out for this week, that means he is either coming back next week, the week after, or not at all for the season. The game the week after that would fall outside the 21 day window. So the next two weeks it is. For the Steelers or the Eagles game. It would be nice to have him next week if he's ready!

Correct, he must return within the 21 day window. A quick search found this on the designated to return rules:

Damn, nice find! Though a loss wouldn't be the end of the world, it'll be hard for me to take the Bears seriously if they let JJ McCarthy sweep them.

I THINK (and I could be wrong) that once you start the 21 day window you have to add the player to the 53 within that window, or the player is done for the year once you declare that window? So now he HAS to return to the 53 within the next 21 days or hes gone for the season. Like you say, he can practice with the team, and not count against the 53 until they activate him. But they cant wait more than 21 days to do that now, so theoretically, he should be back soon? This week or next week? I dont anticipate it this week, but next week?

On nytimes.com/athletic, there's an article with some fun facts. I love this one as it is almost eerie in its timing:

A more in depth review of the Bears from Bercich. Some of the plays he highlights are the same. My overall take is that he does not sound confident in his team going against this offense. My second observation is that he sees what Caleb is becoming and it's not good for the Vikings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH1RO0mcGaI

21 day window is to bring him back to the active roster. He is not on the 53 but can practice with the team. I thought there was a limit after which players could no longer return from IR. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks before the end of the season the return window closed?

Greenard Is out.

ICEMAN

OK well one thing I found out is that if you're bringing someone up off of the practice squad that needs to be done at least 90 minutes before kickoff. My guess is it's the same for bringing players off the 21 day window? I dont expect to see JJ tomorrow, but stranger things have happened - wouldn't be shocked at all to see him next week.

I wondered the same thing. Hmmm. Right now he's in that 21 day window, but I dont think he is counting against the 53? Does anyone know? If he's not on the 53, then he's not gonna play. How soon before the game can you activate someone? I'll try to Google, but we have a lot of members on this board that know a lot of stuff - does anyone know about this?

Yeah the questionable listing is odd because that is the game listing, not practice. He was "limited" in practice, but others like Edwards and Walker were already ruled out for the game. So why would Johnson be questionable for the game if he was not going to play?

He's listed as questionable against the Vikings, which is crazy. I was thinking he'd be back for that first Packers game, but in light of this news, it might be even sooner than that. Ben said he's healthy. Now it's just a matter of conditioning. What a huge boost that would be to get him back during this difficult stretch.

sure in the abstract, in general, yes, but thats not whats going on with Caleb. He is often getting the ball out on time. Its when the protection breaks down that he has to start scrambling. Benedet is young, and he has the rest of the year to keep improving before any decisions need to be made, but right now if Benedet doesnt get any better, we have to think about replacing him. To be fair, you can say the same about Caleb too. And Odunze. All young players need time to grow. But right now, Benedet is a consistent problem in pass pro. Not saying he sucks - just that he needs to get better.

At the risk of being ‘nit picky’, holding the ball and running around aren’t necessarily symptoms of bad pass pro. Not being able to process progressions timely could also contribute, especially with the ‘holding the ball’ part .

Saw another report that confirms most of this and speculated that “IF Chicago were in the mix” his earliest return might be Cleveland. Which I believe was because the Browns aren’t as good a team and it would be a good chance for JJ to start testing things out before playing against tougher competition and theoretically deep into the playoffs. However if the team wasn’t making the playoffs, then they thought he’d more than likely sit the rest of the season out. That tells me he’s right on the edge.

Here's an interesting stat: The Jets are averaging a league low 139.9 passing yards per game. This is the lowest in the NFL since the 2022 Bears (130.5) - the common thread? Justin Fields is the QB.

exactly. Caleb hasnt arrived, but he is clearly on the path. If he keeps improving, he should end up right next to those guys. This is the talent that made him a generational PROSPECT. With Johnson's help it's amazing to see him taking steps to fulfill it.

I dont see our OL as being 3rd in pass blocking. That's a PFF number isnt it? If Benedet grows and can handle the pass blocking, then great - he has been really good in the run game - but right now he is a liability in pass blocking. If people want to complain about Caleb holding the ball and running around, a lot of it starts with Benedet allowing pressure.

The return of JJ and Kyler G should help a lot. We still need a pass rush of course, but having better coverage should help us win shootouts at least - but it puts the lack of pass rush on Caleb's shoulders.

One thing to note. I think there is a perceived target on yards that is misleading. Averaging 270 Passing Yards a game would lead the league this year. That projects to 4,590 for the season. We haven't seen a 5K Passer since Mahomes in 2022. The league leaders the last two seasons were Burrow with 4918 and Tua with 4624. I really think the kickoff changes have impacted overall numbers. If you have 10-15 less yards available per drive, you are losing 40-60 yards per game of potential offense. That won't all be passing numbers, but if 70% of your yards are from passing, you are losing 30-40 yards per game by just having a shorter field after kickoffs. That equates to 500-700 yards per season. Not something I really considered. It obviously affects all players but 5K Passing seems a lot harder now than it was a few years ago.

Rodgers was 25 in Year 4, in his first full season, but he may be the closest comp to Williams due to the low INT rate. Most of the other QBs listed outside of Mahomes threw a lot of INTs. Manning had 28 INTs his rookie year (still crazy to think about), and had double-digit INTs in every season but 1 (when he had 9). Brady didn't hit 4K passing yards until Year 6 and had double-digit INTs in his first 6 full seasons. Marino peaked early (his best years were 2-4). He also threw a ton of INTs, hitting 20 per year in 4 out of 6 seasons.

That gives him a shot to play in 23 days against GB. With the PHI game the week prior on a Friday, we can assume that one is out. However, the GB game would give him 5 more games. GB, CLE, GB, SF, and DET. I think the CLE game would be the latest, as that would be 9 days after the 21-day window.

Great news. Obviously, he still might be a month away, but I doubt much beyond that.

Drake Maye has a lot of similarities to Jordan Love, in my opinion. He's very talented, and if he hits, I think he'll always be a fringe top 10 guy, but there's something about him that I don't trust. Great deep ball thrower who has a good feel for hitting his checkdowns, but his decision making leaves a little to be desired at times, too. He's a little clumsy. Takes too many bad sacks, loses control of the football a lot, and has had a few Jordan Love-like gaffes in the redzone in his career. Caleb is the more dynamic player. I'd still take his arm talent over Maye's, but he's just not as polished yet as a pocket passer. He's also less prone to mistakes and probably one of one in the NFL in terms of avoiding pressure. We're starting to see a little more college Caleb in that regard this year the way he's been toying with pass rushers. Maye deserves his flowers for how good he's been this year, but people are crazy if they think he's a real MVP candidate over guys like Stafford, Darnold, or even Jonathon Taylor. Unless Caleb falls off a cliff by the end of the year, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him take back the #1 QB of his class next year once Maye gets a 1st place schedule and faces stiffer competition. Last year it was all about Daniels and Bo Nix with Maye and Caleb a distant 3rd and 4th. This year it's become mostly Drake Maye with Caleb a distant 2nd. Next year could be Caleb's year.