Ferguson (knee) is inactive for the Bears' Week 2 game against the Cardinals, Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The knee issue sidelined Ferguson for two of the Bears' three practices this week, and the defensive end failed to show enough improvement Sunday morning for the team to green light him to play. It's likely that Will Sutton will move over from nose tackle to defensive end to fill in for Ferguson.

Ferguson is set to open the season as one of the Bears' starters at defensive end, the Chicago Tribune reports.

In the eyes of the new coaching staff, Ferguson made a successful transition from 4-3 defensive tackle to 3-4 defensive end during training camp. Ferguson and Jarvis Jenkins will assume starting roles for the Bears, but neither player is expected to provide much pass-rushing ability, as that task will largely fall on outside linebackers Pernell McPhee and Jared Allen.

Ferguson, a 2014 second-round draft pick, is a leading candidate to replace the recently released Ray McDonald as a starter at defensive end, CSN Chicago reports.

Ferguson, Jarvis Jenkins and Jeremiah Ratliff will likely compete for the two starting DE spots in Chicago's new 3-4 defense. It's not a situation that figures to hold much intrigue for IDP purposes, but Ferguson and the 33-year-old Ratliff could form a solid end duo, with the veteran likely the bigger pass-rushing threat. Ratliff had 6.5 sacks in just 11 games last season, while Ferguson, who profiles as more of a run-stuffer, had two sacks in 16 games on limited snaps. Jenkins has just 41 tackles and two sacks through three seasons.

Ferguson could see snaps at both nose tackle and defensive end for the Bears during the upcoming season, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Drafted as a 4-3 defensive tackle out of LSU last spring, Ferguson had a respectable rookie year, contributing 22 tackles and two sacks. With the Bears moving to a 3-4 scheme during the coming season under new coordinator Vic Fangio, the 6-foot-3, 309-pound Ferguson offers the size and flexibility to play at both spots on the line, though it seems likely that defensive end could end up being his primary destination if the newly drafted Eddie Goldman thrives as a nose tackle in training camp. Regardless of Ferguson's position in the 3-4 alignment, his IDP upside seems to be limited, due to the lack of pass rush he'll be asked to provide. Those duties will fall primarily to the team's outside linebackers.

Ferguson suited up for all 16 games as a rookie in 2014, gathering 24 tackles and two sacks while knocking down three passes.

Ferguson was primarily tasked with spelling Jeremiah Ratliff and Stephen Paea at the defensive tackle spots, turning in useful production in a part-time role. However, with both Paea and Ratliff submitting strong seasons, there's a good chance both will be brought back in 2015, which could continue to make Ferguson's path to playing time a difficult one.

Ferguson made three stops in Sunday's loss to the Patriots.

Ferguson piqued some interest by registering a sack in Weeks 3 and 4, but the rookie interior lineman has since offered his contributions exclusively on rough defense. Expect that to remain the case most weeks for Ferguson, who will rotate in with Stephen Paea, Jeremiah Ratliff and Will Sutton at the two tackle spots.

Ferguson recorded two tackles -- including the Bears' only sack -- in Sunday's loss to the Packers.

Ferguson was credited with a sack after quarterback Aaron Rodgers ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage, so it wasn't necessarily a sack in the traditional sense. While it still counts in any case, don't expect Ferguson to provide much in the way of pass rushing in the weeks to come. He'll mostly be tasked with clogging the middle while he sees added snaps as Jeremiah Ratliff remains out indefinitely with a concussion.

Ferguson recorded two tackles and his first career sack in Monday's win over the Jets.

With Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion) unavailable Monday, Ferguson and fellow rookie Will Sutton stepped in to fill the void in the middle, doing so quite admirably. If Ratliff misses further time, both rookies will work in a timeshare at defensive tackle, which probably limits the utility either might bring as an IDP.