Tough Bears decision arrives with Austin Booker's return now looming
One great Bears personnel mystery of 2025 seems to finally be solved.
That would be, whatever happened to Austin Booker?
Booker, their second-year edge defender, has been eligible to return from injured reserve the past two games but
A team experiencing trouble getting sacks from its four-man rush can hardly turn its nose up at a player who led the NFL in sacks during preseason like Booker did with four sacks. He did this in only two games. The Bears have 5 1/2 of their 12 team sacks from defensive ends.
The problem is Booker won't be eligible to return this year if still on injured reserve after this week's game because his 21-day window will expire.
Why Booker was sitting
Coach Ben Johnson defended the decision to keep the 2024 fifth-round pick inactive against New Orleans.
"More than anything, I think we felt completely good about the guys we had up," he said.
As for the future: "I think he is progressing along nicely and I think he’s going to be able to help us," Johnson said.
So it would seem Bears fans finally could see Booker this week. His 21-day window to return opened Oct. 7, although it's possible they could keep him on IR and then activate him on the day after the Ravens game but this would uncommon. In most cases, teams get a look at a player during the week in practice prior to a game before a player is activated.
In Booker's case, though, the Bears have seen him going through full practices since his window began, and he has been deemed ready to go through the daily injury reports. He just hasn't been activated. Booker suffered a knee injury that didn't require surgery back during the second preseason game with Buffalo on a special teams play.
Booker brings something to the Bears pass rush they've lacked with several other edge rushers.
That would be speed.
He is a lighter (6-foot-6, 245 pounds), athletic edge rusher and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has a scheme heavily reliant on bigger, more stout defensive ends in the 280-pound range.
This doesn't rule out using a rotational edge for pass rush situations, although in New Orleans Allen didn't really have this type of player through most of his years as defensive coordinator and head coach.
The problem with activating Booker is someone will need to be pulled from the 53-man roster and then possibly placed on the practice squad.
If it's reserve edge Daniel Hardy, it would mean losing a valued special teams player.
Fourth-year 275-pound edge Dominique Robinson has a role similar to Booker's but does have 1 1/2 sacks and three pressures in six games.
It seems as though he is starting to be more consistent in his fourth year. Starter Dayo Odeyingbo has one sack and five pressures.
It's going to be a difficult decision and there are not a lot of players overstacked at other positions to allow for another defensive end on the roster.
Injuries beyond Booker
The Bears also have linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga on injured reserve and his window is open to return, but last week they started D'Marco Jackson at strongside linebacker for injured Noah Sewell. Jackson made a tackle and a pass breakup in for 14 defensive plays, and also was in on 19 special teams plays. Sewell has a concussion and hasn't cleared the NFL protocol.
The injury situation after Sunday's game included a shoulder injury to starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and a back injury to tight end Cole Kmet.
“We’ll find out more on Wednesday for sure, but we’re thinking more day to day, week to week right now," Johnson said of those two injuries.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett could be back this week from a knee injury, as well. Jarrett had a limited practice on Friday but was among game day inactives even though he said last week he felt good enough to return.
“We'll see," Johnson said. "We got him back there in practice. That was Friday. We'll see what it looks like next week in terms of his availability for next Sunday.”
Tempers Flare in Packers-Seahawks Joint Practice: Mike Macdonald Weighs in on the Chaos
Joint practices in the NFL can be really heated. Just take for example the one involving the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, with fights erupting on the field between players from both sides.
Even though it’s just a practice session with nothing significant on the line, the competitive juices of players can get in the way and spark fiery moments on the field.
If anything, at least no one appears to have been seriously hurt from the multiple altercations reported. However, Packers right tackle Zach Tom was reportedly tossed out of the field after throwing punches at a couple of Seahawks players.
Despite all the chaos that transpired between the Packers and the Seahawks, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald had great things to say about Green Bay.
Seahawks head coach sends message to Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that Macdonald started his session with the media after the practice, “by thanking Packers coach Matt LaFleur and the organization for hosting them.”
In any case, Macdonald felt good overall about his players.
“It’s hard to tell what happened, who said what,” Macdonald shared. “Look, you want your guys to defend their [teammates]. There’s a line. Whether we go past the line, I don’t think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen, and however it gets started … hopefully it’s not our guys, but people are going to react to a certain extent. I think our guys handled it pretty well.”
The Packers and the Seahawks will still see each other on the field this offseason, as they are scheduled to play in their 2025 NFL preseason finale on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
