Tremaine Edmunds is indeed headed to injured reserve.
The Chicago Bears media website temporarily listed the weak-side linebacker on the team’s IR list Saturday morning. By afternoon, the club made the transaction official, saying Edmunds and running back Roschon Johnson have been placed on IR.
They were two of a handful of transactions announced in advance of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) at Soldier Field.
- Linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and running back Brittain Brown were signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
- Offensive tackle Jordan McFadden and tight end Nikola Kalinic were elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster.
It was notable the club did not activate cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin) and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (calf) from injured reserve.
The McFadden move casts doubt on the availability of left tackle Theo Benedet, who suffered a quad injury in Thursday’s practice and is questionable. But the immediate focus is on the linebacker situation after the club on Friday ruled Edmunds, middle linebacker T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) and Noah Sewell (elbow) out.
D’Marco Jackson is expected to make his first career start at middle linebacker, and rookie fourth-round pick Ruben Hyppolite II is expected to play on the weak side with the Bears waiting to see if Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has a fracture in his non-throwing left wrist, plays. Rodgers was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Friday.
Jackson has logged 32 snaps on defense this season and just 105 in his four-year career. Hyppolite, who was inactive for a four-game stretch earlier in the year, has played 18 snaps on defense.
Now, the Bears are going to be without Edmunds, who suffered a groin injury with two minutes remaining in last Sunday’s 19-17 road win against the Minnesota Vikings, for a minimum of four games. Edmunds came up gimpy after covering tight end T.J. Hockenson on an incomplete pass to the flat. He remained in the game for the final six snaps, but imaging revealed the severity of the soft-tissue injury, and Edmunds could be out four to six weeks.
That’s a significant loss. He’s the third-highest-paid player on the defense in terms of annual average behind defensive end Montez Sweat and Jaylon Johnson. Edmunds leads the Bears with 89 tackles — 36 more than the next closest defender, free safety Kevin Byard III — and has four interceptions and nine pass breakups.
Edmunds has been playing at a Pro Bowl level, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen faces a fresh set of challenges against the Steelers with his linebacker corps wiped out. The Bears (7-3) have been forced to play without their top cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Gordon for the majority of the season. This will be the fifth game Edwards has missed, and defensive linemen Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett and Shemar Turner have all missed time.
The job Allen has done scrambling on a weekly basis probably has been underrated because while the Bears rank 25th in the league versus the run, 30th in yards per pass play and 32nd in explosive play rate allowed, per Sharp Football Analysis, they’re first in takeaways with 22 and rank No. 2 on third down at 33.7%.
Edwards’ injuries have led the Bears to lean heavily on sub packages, something they’ve been in for 80% of the snaps, tied for the fourth-highest rate in the league, according to Sharp Football Analysis. Short on experienced linebackers against the Steelers, it will be interesting to see how the Bears adjust, especially against an offense proficient using two- and three-tight-end personnel groups.
Benedet was limited in practice Thursday and Friday, and adding McFadden as an option for the game indicates there’s concern for Benedet’s availability. If he cannot play, second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo likely will be the third left tackle to start this season with veteran Braxton Jones (knee) still on injured reserve.
While injuries have wracked the defense, the Bears have been much healthier on the offensive line than in recent years. The offense has used the same combination of linemen for 456 of the last 457 snaps dating to the end of the second quarter of the Week 4 road victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Reinforcements are expected soon for the defense. The Bears potentially could have Jaylon Johnson and Gordon back for Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both were full participants in practice Friday. The short week — there will be only one practice before the team travels to Philadelphia — likely factored in the decision to wait. Jaylon Johnson has played only 20 snaps — in Week 2 in Detroit — and this will be the ninth game Gordon has missed.
This will be the third game Edwards has missed since suffering a hand fracture that required surgery after the Nov. 2 game in Cincinnati. Because he wasn’t moved to IR, it’s fair to wonder if the organization is eyeing a return next week.
“We’re going to be really smart with all of these guys,” coach Ben Johnson said Friday. “We’ve got guys returning in the near future here and guys that are playing on Sunday, we know it’s going to be a quick turnaround.”
Ben Johnson has adjusted the practice schedule lately, reducing the amount of work the team does with an eye toward maintaining health.
But losing Roschon Johnson (thumb) affects special teams, and playing without Edmunds will really test the depth of the roster.
The soonest Edmunds can return is the Week 16 meeting against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 20 at Soldier Field. And it’s possible the injury will sideline him until near the end of the regular season.