Brandon Marshall Injury: Updates on Bears Star's Ankle and Return

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 5

Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune confirms Brandon Marshall is active for Week 5, as expected:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 1

Bears coach Marc Trestman commented on Brandon Marshall's status on Wednesday via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:

Updates from Monday, Sept. 29

Marc Trestman commented on Brandon Marshall's ankle following Week 4, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 28

The Bears confirmed Brandon Marshall is active for Week 4:

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network previously reported the pre-game expectation for Marshall:

Updates from Friday, Sept. 26

Jeff Dickerson updated Brandon Marshall's status for Week 4:

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 25

CSN's John Mullin has the latest on Marshall's status:

Original Text

Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall is dealing with an ankle injury after he was forced to leave the team's Week 3 matchup against the New York Jets.

Originally, the Bears Twitter account considered his return probable, but just a few minutes later downgraded his status: 

After halftime, Marshall returned to the field as Adam Hoge of WGNRadio reports:

Marshall is a crucial piece of a Bears aerial attack that's become the most important factor in the team's success. 

The 30-year-old wideout is no stranger to fighting through pain. He's dealt with various ailments throughout his career, which began with the Denver Broncos in 2006. He's never missed more than two games during a regular season, though.

This season hasn't been any different. He was bothered by an ankle issue coming out of the team's Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills. Now he's battling another issue.

During the offseason, Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com passed along comments from the wideout about some of his goals moving forward. As part of his response, the UCF product noted the injuries he's dealt with are part of the equation.

"I'm trying to pass Cris Carter in everything. I don't think I have it in me to go for Jerry [Rice]. That's 20 years I would have to play," Marshall said. "Maybe with modern medicine and all this new technology, I could potentially play that long, but I've had three hip surgeries. I'm just asking for six more [years in the league]."

While that's the long-term outlook, the Bears will be more concerned about his short-term availability following the latest setback.

As Numbers Never Lie previously pointed out, his ability to stretch the field and open up space for his teammates to operate is key:

If he's forced to miss any games, Alshon Jeffery will step into the No. 1 receiver role. Tight end Martellus Bennett will probably see some added targets while the team uses more of a committee approach among the other wideouts to fill the void. Veteran Santonio Holmes, while not the same player he was in his prime, should see an uptick in snaps.

A positive sign is that Marshall's track record suggests he doesn't need much practice time to remain productive on Sundays. It gives him a little extra margin when it comes to suiting up, assuming he's close enough to full strength to make an impact.

The outlook should become clearer once more details are released about the extent of the injury.