"I'm not playing doctor; you shouldn't either," coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "You should let us come and tell you once we know for sure exactly what the injury is. We're hopeful, I'll just say that."Orton was examined after the game and underwent tests Monday morning, Smith said. More were scheduled for later in the day, but the odds of him being ready for next week's game against Tennessee certainly did not look good after he went down against the Lions.
Asked if the injury was more than just a sprain, Smith said: "It's an ankle injury. That's about all I'm going to tell you right now. Wednesday, I'll tell you more."
He also offered few details about safety Mike Brown's calf injury, although Smith did say he doesn't think it's season-ending.
Smith said the Bears have no plans to bring in another quarterback.
"To do that, you would say that Kyle will be out for a long period of time," Smith said. "We're not there. We're evaluating an ankle injury. That's about all we're doing right now."
Several reports said Orton could be out up to a month with a high ankle sprain, but team spokesman Scott Hagel said Monday night: "The evaluation process is ongoing and it will go through tomorrow."
Orton's agent David Dunn did not return messages seeking comment.
Orton was enjoying a breakout year after beating Grossman in a preseason competition before the injury in the closing minute of the first half. That happened moments after the Bears lost Brown, their emotional leader.
Brown walked to the locker room after Detroit's Jason Hanson booted a 52-yard field goal that extended Detroit's lead to 10 with 1:05 left.
The Bears had a third down on their 35 with 40 seconds left when Orton scrambled to his right. Cory Redding hit him and Dewayne White fell on Orton as the quarterback was hitting the turf.
Orton got up and took a few steps before crumbling to the ground. He was tended to for several minutes before being carted off the field. He was 8-of-14 for 108 yards and was in line for his sixth straight game with 199 yards or more.
Now, the Bears might be without him for a while.
"I don't want to be prepared for that," tight end Desmond Clark said. "Hopefully, he comes back and misses a minimum amount of time. ... At this point, I'm going to hold out hope that he's not going to miss much time because he was playing at an elite level, and hopefully, we can get him back as soon as possible."
Orton has 1,777 yards in all while completing 151 of 244 passes, and has 10 touchdowns and four interceptions
-- none in the past four games. He might not have been on his way to the Pro Bowl, but clearly was playing at a much higher level than when he got thrust into the starting role as a rookie filling in for the injured Grossman in 2005.
Back then, Orton was simply a game manager. The Bears simplified their offense and limited him mainly to handoffs and short passes. And although Chicago went to the playoffs, fans couldn't wait for Grossman's return late that season.
