NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears are limping into their Week 4 matchup against the Denver Broncos on the heels of an 0-3 start. Unfortunately, reinforcements won’t be coming via good news on the injury report. That is because safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Johnson are among the players who have already been ruled OUT for Sunday’s showdown.
This is what the injury report looks like in its entirety:
What will the Bears do without Eddie Jackson and Jaylon Johnson?
There is no sugar-coating it, Bears fans. This is as bad as it gets in terms of an injury report. The Bears, who were already without starting cornerback Kyler Gordon because of a hand injury that sent him on injured reserve, will be without two other starters in the defensive backfield. Frankly, I’m not sure which is a bigger loss because Jackson and Johnson are two of the defense’s most important pieces. And that they are part of what was the perceived strength of the defense makes their absences in Sunday’s upcoming game that much more painful to deal with for a team already trudging through adversity.
Safety Eddie Jackson is the longest-tenured and most-accomplished starter on Chicago’s defense. Last year at this time, we were witnessing a renaissance season for the two-time Pro Bowl safety. Remember, Jackson was a top Pro Bowl vote-getter among free safeties at the time of his season-ending injury last year. The hope going into the 2023 season is that Jackson would build on an impressive campaign that saw him reel in all sorts of accolades. Instead, a lingering foot injury is causing Jackson to miss his second consecutive game. Starting in his place figures to be Elijah Hicks. The second-year player who was a seventh-round pick in 2022 figures to be tested early and often by a Broncos offense quarterbacked by Russell Wilson.
The same can be said about whichever player (or players) fills in for cornerback Jaylon Johnson. It is a bummer that we’re in a new year and we’re seeing yet another injury popping up that will keep Johnson from playing a full slate of regular-season games. This time it is a hamstring injury that is causing Johnson to miss out on game action. Johnson suffered the hamstring injury during the Bears’ Week 3 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs which kept him out for most of that game. Johnson, Jackson, and a third defensive back — cornerback Josh Blackwell (who is dealing with his own hamstring issue — being unavailable means that the Bears will need to dig deep in their depth chart to field a secondary.
Here are the healthy Bears defensive backs not named Jaquan Brisker and Tyrique Stevenson going into Week 4:
This doesn’t include the trio of defense backs who are on the practice squad. Macon Clark, A.J. Thomas, and Kendall Williamson could find their way onto the 53-man game day roster if the Bears do a Saturday call-up. Still, this isn’t a group that will garner much enthusiasm from the fan base. But maybe someone will seize the opportunity and make the most of newfound (and unexpected) playing time.
