The Chicago Bears are adding a veteran safety with three Super Bowl rings to their depleted secondary as Eddie Jackson continues to nurse a foot injury.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire for October 3, the Bears officially signed 32-year-old Duron Harmon from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad to their 53-man roster on Tuesday, acquiring a three-time Super Bowl champion with 78 career starts.
Harmon, a 2013 third-round pick, played his first seven seasons with the New England Patriots and won three Super Bowl championships with the franchise before moving on during the 2020 offseason. Since then, he has bounced around between Detroit (2020), Atlanta (2021) and Las Vegas (2022) but has remained a trustworthy secondary piece, notching six interceptions, 15 pass deflections and 161 tackles across those three years.
The Bears could certainly benefit from Harmon’s experience considering all three of their healthy safeties on the roster are either in their first or second NFL seasons. Elijah Hicks, a 2022 seventh-round pick, has been starting at free safety in Jackson’s absence, but he is coming off a rough game against Denver in which he allowed two catches for 78 yards on three targets in coverage and missed as many tackles as he made (three).
The Bears still had a vacant spot on their 53-man roster from when they placed nickel cornerback Josh Blackwell on injured reserve last Sunday, September 29, and were not required to make a corresponding move in order to sign Harmon.
Eddie Jackson Eyeing Return Against Commanders
The Bears now have more veteran experience in their safety room, but there is a chance they will only need Harmon in a rotational capacity after Jackson said earlier this week in an interview that he is planning to make his return in Week 5 against Washington.
Jackson has been sidelined since sustaining a foot injury in Week 2’s loss to Tampa Bay and has not participated in a single practice since then, including the first two of the short week for the Bears in preparation for their Thursday Night Football bout. Still, Jackson indicated Monday that “the plan” is for him to play against the Commanders.
“That’s the plan,” Jackson said Monday on ESPN Chicago 1000. “Right now, day by day, I’m feeling a lot better, so that’s the plan [to play against the Commanders].”
Whether Jackson’s plans to play against the Commanders come to fruition remains to be seen. The Bears could be holding out Jackson from practice out of caution, but the short week could also tempt them to keep him back for one more game to make sure he is 100% ready to play again without much risk of re-aggravating his injury. It is possible they might also be considering playing him but holding him to a pitch count.
A final decision about Jackson could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon when the Bears are required to release their final injury report for Week 5’s trip to Washington, but they could delay that decision until game-time if they list him as either doubtful or question to play against the Commanders.
Jaylon Johnson’s Status Remains Unclear for Week 5
It is encouraging that Jackson believes he could return for the Bears in Week 5, but there is no word yet on whether top cornerback Jaylon Johnson — who remains out at practice with a hamstring injury — will also have a shot at playing against Washington.
Johnson injured his hamstring in Week 3’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and has not set foot on the practice field ever since. While it is a good thing that he has managed to avoid being placed on injured reserve, where he would have to miss at least four games, it is unclear whether he is trending toward a return against the Commanders just yet.
Like with Jackson, the injury report on Wednesday should provide more clarity about Johnson’s availability, but if he is ruled out for Thursday’s game, the timeline for his return will remain a mystery.
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Bears Sign 3-Time Super Bowl Champion FS to Boost Secondary