The Bears placed left guard James Daniels on injured reserve Wednesday, the team announced. They promoted offensive lineman Sam Mustipher to the active roster in a corresponding move.
Daniels injured his pectoral muscle in last Thursday night’s 20-19 win over the Buccaneers. He will miss the rest of the season.
“It’s heartbreaking,” offensive line coach Juan Castillo said, via Larry Mayer of the team website. “I could see it in his eyes. It’s sad because this is a young man who’s been working hard, playing better. He’s got a big heart, [he’s a] hard worker, everybody likes him in the room. It hurts to see something like that happen.
“The positive thing is he’s going to get back at full strength. He’s 23 years old, so he has a great future ahead of him. Those are things you have to look at when you have a setback like that, look at the positive things. That’s what we’re trying to do with him and talking to him.”
Mustipher signed with the Bears last season as an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame. He spent his entire rookie season and the first five games this year on the team’s practice squad.