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Bears Get Key Linebacker Back, But Two More Are Still Missing
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Offensively, the Chicago Bears once again look like one of the best teams in football.
Caleb Williams. Rome Odunze. Luther Burden III. Colston Loveland. D'Andre Swift. That's an explosive group of playmakers. But defensively, the Bears have lost a lot of talent. Kevin Byard, who led the NFL with seven interceptions last season, and Jaquan Brisker, Chicago's two starting safeties, are gone, along with C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Linebacker, though, has quickly become one of the sore spots through camp. Tremaine Edmunds, the Bears' leading tackler, signed with the New York Giants in March. The team brought in former first-rounder Devin Bush to replace him, but veteran T.J. Edwards — a steady force for Chicago over the last few seasons — was expected to step up as well. Unfortunately, Edwards injured his right calf training right before camp started and missed the first six practices, a setback that came just months after he broke his fibula in the Bears' wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers in January.
On Wednesday, though, the Bears officially activated Edwards off the non-football injury list, and he's now set to practice for the first time this summer. That's a welcome sight for Bears fans — not just because he needs to build a strong rapport with newcomer Bush before Week 1, but because Chicago is already thin at linebacker, with two other notable players still yet to practice.
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Noah Sewell, the Bears' fifth-round pick in 2023, remains on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list after tearing his Achilles in December 2025, and fifth-round rookie Keyshaun Elliott, an All-Big 12 talent out of Arizona State, is on PUP with a back issue. Elliott's injury isn't considered long-term, while Sewell is still working through rehab and expected to return at some point during the 2026 season. That puts even more pressure on Bush and Edwards to step in and contribute right away.
Getting Edwards back is a massive win for Chicago. Now entering his eighth NFL season, he's spent the last three years with the Bears and racked up 351 combined tackles over that span, along with 22 tackles for loss, 17 quarterback hits, seven sacks, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles. With Edmunds gone and Bush still new to the room, Edwards is the steady presence Chicago needs to stay afloat.
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