Bears put safety Jaquan Brisker on injured reserve
The Bears put safety Jaquan Brisker on injured reserve Thursday with a concussion he suffered against the Panthers in Week 5.
The 2022 second-round draft pick, who has missed the last four games, will miss at least four more before he is eligible to return. This is the third consecutive season he has missed games with a concussion.
Brisker, a starter since Week 1 of his rookie season, is a foundation player in Matt Eberflus’ defense who was looking to reach Pro Bowl status in 2024. He has 23 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack, in five games this season.
He suffered the injury in the second quarter against the Panthers, when he collided with Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble, who lowered his helmet on a nine-yard gain and fumbled after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Brisker.
Tremble left the game with a concussion. He was fined $17,083 for unnecessary roughness by lowering his helmet. Brisker remained in the game but self-reported a concussion the following day.
Elijah Hicks, a 2022 seventh-round pick, has started the last four games for Brisker.
Poker face
Bears wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said he has been emphasizing the importance of body language and facial expressions after misplays to wide receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.
Moore in particular has attracted attention for reactions during games that show emotions that Beatty would rather be kept hidden.
“It’s been frustrating,” Beatty said. “I’ve got a great group of guys. Keenan’s a leader — the epitome of [a leader], and DJ is, too. We’re just trying to tell those guys, ‘Don’t wear all your emotions on your sleeve and let everybody see what you think.’
“It’s part of developing a young quarterback. They played with young quarterbacks — Keenan with [the Chargers] with Justin [Herbert]. And DJ had a bunch of them in Carolina. That’s part of the process. Our job is to help make his job easier. That’s the big emphasis.
“Nobody wants to see anybody frustrated. And then everybody draws conclusions from things . . . because of the way we’re demonstrating those things. If you know you’re going to struggle a little bit, you want to make sure that you’re composed.”
The X-factor
One day after Packers safety Xavier McKinney ripped Moore for walking off the field while Caleb Williams was still scrambling against the Cardinals, the Bears receiver responded.
“Trash talk is trash talk,” he said. “We’ll just see on Sunday what it all plays out to be. . . . He’s a good player. I’ve played against X a few times. Looking forward to the battle.”
McKinney has been annoyed with Moore since May, when he was asked on “Up and Adams” about the Packers signing McKinney and the Lions drafting two cornerbacks.
“That’s nice,” Moore said. “I don’t feel no way about it. They’re just there.”
Asked Thursday if he hurt McKinney’s feelings with that response, Moore smiled.
“I didn’t think I hurt his feelings,” he said.
“What’d I say: ‘That’s nice?’ ”
Injury report
Guard Teven Jenkins (ankle) and back-up tackle Kiran Amegadjie (calf) did not practice Thursday. Defensive end Montez Sweat (ankle), right tackle Darnell Wright (knee), left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) and defensive end Darrell Taylor (knee) were limited.
No excuses for Sweat
Sweat appeared to be injured when he was unable to get back to the line of scrimmage in time to avoid an offside penalty when the Patriots were spiking the ball for a field-goal try late in the first half Sunday. But that was not an excuse, defensive coordinator Eric Washington said.
“The awareness piece has to be there . . . understanding that situation — two-minute . . . we’ve got to hustle and make sure we’re in position,” Washington said. “And if there is a situation with injury, then we’re down in that situation. But we’ve got to hustle and get back. We’ve got make sure we’re keeping pace with that situation.”
h Nate. Lot of reasons. I wish it would have, and I wish him the best moving forward.”