Impact of Losing Young, Timu’s Big Chance, The Last Jedi Trailer to Debut on MNF, and Other Bullets

As if you needed another reason to turn on your TV for Monday Night Football, ESPN announced the trailer for the eighth episode of the Star Wars franchise will debut during halftime of the Chicago Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Does this mean Mitch Trubisky is The Last Jedi?

One can only hope…

  • If Trubisky is The Last Jedi, if Jim Harbaugh leaves college to return to coach the NFL and leads Trubisky to the promised land, would that make him Yoda? I have questions…
  • In case you missed it, outside linebacker/defensive end/edge rusher Willie Young will reportedly miss the rest of the year because of a triceps injury. On Thursday, Young was listed as a limited participant in practice, but did not practice on Friday, and was downgraded on Saturday and listed as doubtful to play on Monday after sitting out Saturday’s practice. The Bears are down to three healthy edge defenders with Leonard Floyd, Pernell McPhee, and Sam Acho being the last men standing on the depth chart.
  • JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago chimes in with how Young’s reported season-ending injury will impact a Bears defense that has shown flashes of being a competent group, but has been widely inconsistent. Young’s absence will (once again) test the Bears depth on the defensive side of the ball, while also possibly allowing for an opportunity to evaluate the future of a pair of practice squad pass rushers in undrafted free agent rookie Isaiah Irving and recently acquired Howard Jones. With Young’s injury, three starters from the team’s season-opening defense will be out of action for the rest of the season.
  • Injuries to inside linebackers Jerrell Freeman and Nick Kwiatkoski – as well as Danny Trevathan’s one-game suspension – have opened the door for John Timu to step in and make some plays in a pinch. Timu is in his third season with the Bears, having started eight of the 20 games he has appeared in since the start of the 2015 season. Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com writes Timu hopes to make the most of his latest opportunity. Timu has big shoes to fill and a ton of responsibility, seeing that he will be in charge of handling the defensive calls and signals when he starts on Monday.
  • Whether Timu is starting at inside linebacker for Trevathan or McPhee is replacing Young as an edge rusher, Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald writes the Bears defense has to be ready for a Vikings team that still hasn’t decided on a quarterback. Sam Bradford practiced on back-to-back days after missing the last three games because of a knee injury. Head coach John Fox said he expected Bradford to play, but ESPN analyst Jon Gruden believes Bradford will sit out and is at least a week away from returning.
  • Let the record show the Bears aren’t the only team missing the presence of inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman:
  • When healthy, Freeman has been one of the Bears’ best free agent signings since GM Ryan Pace took over. However, his moves before this season aren’t looking that great four weeks into the regular season. Sean Tomlinson of Bleacher Report re-graded every team’s offseason moves, and gives the Bears a “C” grade because the Glennon signing is considered to be a “financial whiff.” However, the Bears could see an improved grade if Trubisky can play well and Tarik Cohen can continue on his path.
  • In case you’re curious, the Green Bay Packers (A-), Minnesota Vikings (B+), and Detroit Lions (B-) all scored better grades than the Bears. Not quite what you want to see after an offseason where the Bears were one of the two most active teams on the transaction wires.
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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