The Chicago Bears could receive a significant boost to their pass rush when they take on the Washington Commanders for Monday Night Football in Week 6.
The Bears are now eligible to designate second-year defensive end Austin Booker for return from the injured reserve list after he missed the first four games of the season.
Booker had shone in the preseason and seemed the likely choice to serve as the Bears‘ top rotational pass rusher behind veterans Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo coming into the 2025 season, but he suffered a knee injury in August that forced the team to place him on the short-term injured reserve list after the 53-man roster cutdown.
While the Bears have not laid out an expected return timeline for Booker, they will have the option of designating him for return to practice in Week 6 if they feel he has made enough progress in his injury recovery. Once the Bears designate him for return, they will have 21 days to activate him to the roster or else must leave him on IR for the year.
The Bears could provide clues to Booker’s status when they hold their first practice of the week on Wednesday and issue their first injury report for Sunday’s prime-time date with the Commanders. They would need to activate Booker by Saturday afternoon at the latest for him to have a chance of suiting up for them on Monday Night Football.
The Bears (2-2) will take on the Commanders (3-2) at 8:15 p.m. ET next Monday.
Austin Booker’s Return Would Help Bears’ Pass Rush
Booker’s return, if it comes this week, would be welcomed for a Bears pass-rushing unit — and defense, as a whole — that has struggled mightily through the first four games.
Prior to Monday night’s game between Kansas City and Jacksonville, the Bears had given up the second-most rushing yards (164.5 yards per game), sixth-most total yards (379.5 yards) and fifth-most points (29.3) in the NFL through the first five weeks.
More damning are the Bears‘ pass-rushing numbers. While they tout the league’s 17th-ranked passing defense, they sit tied with the Carolina Panthers for the fewest sacks (five), having recorded just three sacks total in their past three games.
According to ESPN Analytics, the Bears also rank 30th as a team in pass-rush win rate (26%) — a far cry from the league-leading Cleveland Browns and their 56% win rate.
Ideally, Booker can help the Bears straighten out their pass-rushing wrinkles when he is healthy enough to return to the lineup. The 2024 fifth-round pick is largely unproven after tallying 1.5 sacks and playing just 283 defensive snaps as a rookie, but he showed a promising amount of growth in the preseason and could provide an impactful jolt.
Will Bears Get Good News Elsewhere With Injuries?
While Booker’s potential return would help the Bears in their preparation for Monday night’s showdown with the Commanders, his is not the only injury worth monitoring.
The Bears did not have linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring, cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring), right tackle Darnell Wright (elbow), defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) or first-round rookie tight end Colston Loveland (hip) available in Week 4’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, creating anticipation about who might return after the bye week.
The Bears are also eligible to designate running back Travis Homer or linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga for return from injured reserve, having placed both veterans on IR with return designations before the roster cutdown in late August. Like Booker, the Bears have not indicated whether Homer or Ogbongbemiga is ready to return, but they can activate either one of them back to the 53-man roster once they are medically cleared.
The Bears would need to make corresponding roster moves to activate any one of their three now-eligible IR players back to the 53-man roster.
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