As if having all three of their top linebackers unavailable for Week 12’s game wasn’t bad enough, the Chicago Bears have announced more devastating news with less than 24 hours to go until they kick off against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bears announced they placed star linebacker Tremaine Edmunds on the injured reserve list with a groin injury in a series of roster moves on Saturday, November 22.
Edmunds unexpectedly popped up on the injury report this week after November 19’s first practice for the Steelers. He played all 55 defensive snaps in Week 11’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, but he also injured his groin late in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, which forced him to sit out all of Week 12’s practices.
Edmunds will now miss at least the next four games for the Bears, counting Sunday’s home game against the Steelers — for which the team had already ruled him out.
The Bears also won’t have linebackers T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) or Noah Sewell (elbow) due to injuries, leaving them without their top three players at the position.
The Bears (7-3) will kick off against the Steelers (6-4) at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 23.
How Will Bears Adjust Without Tremaine Edmunds?
Losing Edmunds for a week presented a big enough problem for the Bears, especially with both Edwards and Sewell also ruled out because of their respective injuries.
Now that Edmunds is out until Week 16’s home game against the Green Bay Packers, though, it begs the question: How exactly will the Bears adjust to such a big loss?
Edmunds had been thriving over his first 10 games in the Bears’ new defensive system under Dennis Allen, who moved Edmunds from the middle to the weak-side role and took greater advantage of his pass-coverage skills than former coach Matt Eberflus had.
He sits tied for second in the league with four interceptions and has tallied 89 tackles and nine pass deflections entering Week 12, putting him on a career-high trajectory.
The Bears won’t have an easy time replacing the impact that Edmunds brought to the defense at this point in the season. Though they have five linebackers still on their 53-man roster, Amen Ogbongbemiga is primarily a special-teamer, while Ruben Hyppolite II, a fourth-round rookie, has only played 18 defensive snaps in his young NFL career.
The Bears also cannot count on Edwards or Sewell until their injuries improve, leaving them in a rough situation as they fight to hold onto their newfound NFC North lead.
Bears Elevate 2 LBs to Help Out Injury-Battered Unit
How the Bears will bolster their linebacker corps in the long run remains to be seen, but they are making a few immediate call-ups to help them out against the Steelers.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Bears have signed linebacker Carl Jones Jr. from the practice squad to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday’s game against the Steelers. He has been with the Bears since he came into the league as an undrafted rookie and will now add depth to their injury-battered group against the Steelers.
The Bears had little choice but to add depth to their linebacker room with all three of their top linebackers ruled out against the Steelers, but it is unclear how they plan to use their linebackers in the matchup. D’Marco Jackson has played the most snaps for the Bears of the healthy group, but Hyppolite could also factor into the game plan.
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