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Darnell Mooney is noticeably absent from the Chicago Bears' Week 12 game against the New York Jets. The reason is that the franchise's top wide receiver was knocked out of the game in the second half with an ankle injury. The receiver hasn’t missed a regular-season game before in his young career.
The Bears' star wideout got rolled up during a run play in the third quarter versus the New York Jets. Mooney immediately needed assistance with his ankle to get off the field at MetLife Stadium.
When will Darnell Mooney return from injury?
According to the Chicago Bears, Mooney is officially listed as doubtful to return for the Week 12 matchup versus the New York Jets.
Should Mooney not return, the Bears will lean on wideouts Equanimeous St. Brown, Chase Claypool, Velus Jones Jr., Byron Pringle, and Dante Pettis. The trade deadline addition of Claypool will serve Chicago well in the absence of Mooney. The former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout's wide skillset perfectly complements the sheer pace of speedster Byron Pringle.
Although the Bears have a somewhat complete room of receivers, the group is still substandard compared to other outfits around the league. They'll thus continue to rely on David Montgomery's running game out of the backfield to aid the passing game.
Darnell Mooney hasn't been very injury-prone throughout his career
Darnell Mooney's lone injury of significance came back in the 2020-21 season when he was forced out of the team’s final game versus the Green Bay Packers. The Bears' fifth-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft is the team's leading receiver this season with 40 catches for 493 yards. He also has two touchdowns.
In his rookie season, Mooney had 61 receptions for 631 yards and four touchdowns. The wideout was second on the team in both receptions and yards that season and third in touchdowns. Last season, he had his first career 1,000-yard season with 1,055 yards. He also had 81 receptions and four touchdowns. Mooney led the team in all three categories that season for the Bears.
