The Chicago Bears will play the remaining games of the 2015 National Football League (NFL) regular season without tight end Martellus Bennett who was placed on injured reserve (IR) last Tuesday due to a rib injury.
According to ESPN, Bennett suffered the injury in their Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos (17–15) which made him miss the Bears' huge Week 12 upset win over the Green Bay Packers (17–13).
In a report by the Chicago Tribune, Bennett said he was unable to watch the win over the Packers live and watched it via tape instead because it was hard not playing.
ESPN meanwhile reported that the 28-year-old tight end decided to get treatment at his home when he missed the game versus Green Bay.
Bennett returned to action last Sunday, in their 26–20 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers and had to exit the game in the third quarter, but checked back in to end the game.
Following the defeat to San Francisco, Bennett was not available to the media with a team spokesperson saying he had X-rays, ESPN reported.
The report added that last Monday, Bears head coach John Fox said that Bennett was day-to-day.
It wasn't until Tuesday when the Bears placed him on IR which ended his 2015 season, as the team also signed tight end Rob Housler to the 53-man roster.
Bennett, in his third season with Chicago, has played in 11 games having 53 receptions for 439 yards and three touchdowns.
According to ESPN, his reception tally ranks him ninth among NFL tight ends this 2015 season.
The production of the veteran out of Texas A&M dipped this 2015 and the Chicago Tribune mentioned in their report that he may have played his last season with the Bears.
Chicago is currently third in the National Football Conference (NFC) North with a 5–7 record and is aiming to win the last four games of its regular season schedule to improve its playoff chances.
