Chicago Bears OT Larry Borom will miss Sunday’s game because of concussion

LAKE FOREST – The Bears will be forced to shake things up on the offensive line again this week. Right tackle Larry Borom has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of a concussion.

Borom missed practice all week while in concussion protocol after Monday’s win over the New England Patriots.

With Borom out, the Bears likely will turn to veteran backup Riley Reiff. The 33-year-old tackle signed with the Bears just before the start of training camp. After initially taking some starting reps in training camp, Reiff has been a backup since the regular season began.

“Reiff’s been ready to go,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Friday at Halas Hall. “He’s played a lot of snaps in the league, and he knows his assignment, knows how to do it. He’s always been a consummate pro. He’s always been helpful in the room for those young guys.”

Reiff, a first-round pick a decade ago, has started 139 regular-season games over the course of his career. Most of those starts came with Detroit and Minnesota. He also started a dozen games for Cincinnati last year, although he missed the postseason run because of an ankle injury.

“You’ve always got to be ready in this business,” Reiff said Friday. “Crazy stuff happens.”

Eberflus said the Bears plan to activate lineman Alex Leatherwood from the nonfootball illness list. Leatherwood returned to practice in recent weeks after missing a month, reportedly because of mononucleosis. He could be an option at tackle, but it seems unlikely that he would start in his first week back on the roster.

The Bears picked up Leatherwood, a 2021 first-round draft pick, after the Raiders cut him two months ago. Eberflus said he didn’t intend to tip his hand, but he noted that Leatherwood remains “a work in progress.”

“Leatherwood, there’s a reason that he was taken so high in the draft,” Reiff said. “He has a lot of talent. Good kid. Smart. Tough. He’s been good to have in the room.”

Elsewhere on the offensive line, left guard Michael Schofield and center Sam Mustipher figure to start this week. Schofield made his first start of the season last week in New England. Mustipher was benched, but then had to fill in when starting center Lucas Patrick suffered a toe injury. Patrick went on injured reserve this week and will miss at least four weeks.

This week’s game will be a major test for the offensive line. The Cowboys’ defense has the No. 1 sack rate in the NFL. As a team, they’ve sacked opposing QBs 29 times in seven games. Second-year pro Micah Parsons leads the way with eight sacks. Dorance Armstrong Jr. has five sacks. In total, 11 players have at least one sack for Dallas.

With Borom, Patrick and guard Cody Whitehair sidelined, the Cowboys will present a major challenge for the Bears’ O-line.

“You’ve got three guys [injured] that were starting for us at one point, and guys got to go in there and step up and do the job,” Eberflus said.