The Chicago Bears will visit the San Francisco 49ers for NBC's Sunday Night Football, but they could be missing some key players. The 49ers plan to play Ray McDonald, who was arrested on domestic violence charges on August 31.
Both Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey of the Chicago Bears might be out of action tonight for the team's Week 2 matchup against the 49ers. Marshall suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and did not practice all week, while Jeffrey injured his hamstring in the same game and only had a limited practice on Friday. Both are believed to have a 25% chance of playing tonight.
Unfortunately for Chicago, Josh Morgan is listed a doubtful on the team's injury report, which leaves Santonio Holmes, Chris Williams and Josh Bellamy as their remaining options at the wide receiver position. Guard Matt Slauson (ankle) is also out tonight along with offensive lineman Roberto Garza (ankle) and fullback Tony Flammetta (hamstring).
While Chicago is having trouble getting players on the field, the 49ers are faced with a moral predicament that they seemingly aren't concerned with. The team said defensive end Ray McDonald will play tonight against Chicago despite being recently arrested on domestic abuse charges, even after the Carolina Panthers deactivated Greg Hardy (charged with domestic abuse in July) and the Minnesota Vikings deactivated Adrian Peterson (charged with child abuse on Friday) from their lineups.
San Francisco says they are waiting for the litigation process to play out, but their decision is likely to cause a stir because of such recent occurrences across the NFL. The 49ers will only be without backup center Marcus Martin tonight, but cornerbacks Tramaine Brock (toe) and Chris Culliver (concussion) are questionable and so is starting right tackle Anthony Davis (hamstring). What once looked like a tough matchup could now be an easy victory if the Bears are missing all their previously mentioned offensive weapons and the Niners can get their questionable players on the field.
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