The Chicago Bears will be without at least one of their safeties when they play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Bears announced Jaquan Brisker is OUT for tomorrow’s Sunday Night Football game. Brisker didn’t practice all week and was originally designated as questionable to play on Friday’s injury report. Traditionally, a “questionable designation is a 50-50 toss-up. And with their announcement, we know which side of the coin it landed on.
The Brisker announcement is part of a series of transactions the Bears announced on Saturday:
What can the Bears do without Jaquan Brisker?
Jaquan Brisker is an important part of the Bears’ defense and will likely be missed on game day. Through seven games, Brisker has 45 total tackles (20 solo), one forced fumble, and two quarterback hits. Last year, Brisker’s 4.0 sacks were the most among Bears defenders. The second-year safety plays with fire, energy, and confidence — all of which bring life to this defense. And the Bears will miss all of that (plus his on-the-field contributions) with him out of the lineup. In his absence, the Bears could turn to Quindell Johnson, Elijah Hicks, or Duran Harmon.
The Bears ruling out Jaquan Brisker also stands out because Eddie Jackson (the other Bears safety with a questionable designation) was not ruled out for Sunday’s game. Perhaps Jackson’s status will be a game-time decision. Or maybe we can take this as a sign that Jackson is more likely to play than we might otherwise think. Defending the Chargers’ weapons was going to be tough enough. Doing so without both starting safeties would make that challenge even tougher. Stay tuned to see what other roster moves the Bears have up their sleeves.
