Bears Offer Major Update on Montez Sweat’s Injury Return Timeline

The Chicago Bears have announced significant news on injured Pro Bowl edge rusher Montez Sweat.

Sweat has been absent from on-field activities for most of the past two weeks with a health issue the team has not yet publicly disclosed. However, defensive coordinator Eric Washington told reporters on Tuesday, August 13, that he expects the defensive end will be game-ready come the Bears’ season opener against the Tennessee Titans on September 8.

“I don’t have any concerns as far as his readiness and availability on Week 1,” Washington said. “He’s making progress and trending in the right direction as far as getting 100% healthy.”

Sweat finished the 2023 campaign with 13 total sacks, including 6 after joining the Bears via a deal with the Washington Commanders ahead of the trade deadline. He led both teams in that statistical category, a first in the history of the NFL, and earned the first Pro Bowl honors of his five-year professional career following the season’s conclusion.

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Bears Have Minimal Pass Rush on Defense Aside From Montez Sweat

Sweat is of premium importance to the Bears defense because he offers the critical component of quarterback pressure across a unit relatively devoid of it otherwise.

Chicago finished last year 31st in the league in sacks after ending the 2022 campaign dead last. Arguably the Bears’ top need with less than four weeks until the regular season is another edge who can play opposite Sweat on pass-rushing downs, if not start on the other side of the line full-time.

Currently, DeMarcus Walker is the team’s second starting defensive end, though pressuring QBs at an elite level isn’t a cornerstone of his game. Walker finished last season with 4 sacks after a career high 7 sacks with the Tennessee Titans the year before.

Chicago signed Yannick Ngakoue in early August 2023 to a one-year deal to serve as a bandaid over its edge-rushing woes. He put up a career worst 4 sacks and remains a free agent late into the summer for the second consecutive offseason.

The Bears are at the top of most lists any time rumors drop about a pass rusher who is unhappy in his current situation, with the most recent examples including Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots and Haason Reddick of the New York Jets.

However, Chicago has yet to make a move in free agency or via a trade to address its needs off the edge, implying either that the team doesn’t believe the issue is overly serious or that the front office has a specific plan and/or player in mind that doesn’t involve immediate action.

Assuming the Bears don’t upgrade the pass rush ahead of Week 1, it will be even more imperative that Sweat is back on the field and at 100% health.

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Bears May Look to Rookie DE Austin Booker as Pass Rusher Alongside Montez Sweat

The Bears found what they believe to be tremendous value in the fifth round of last April’s NFL draft, during which they selected edge rusher Austin Booker out of Kansas.

Chicago traded a 2025 fourth-rounder to the Buffalo Bills in order to get back into the draft for the very purpose of adding Booker, who they believed had fallen below a position representative of his true value.

Booker has legitimate hope of becoming a rotational defensive end in pass-rush situations, especially if the Bears don’t add anymore help there, but he will have significantly exceeded his development timeline should he become a high-level defensive disruptor during his rookie campaign.

Chicago either must hope for that type of development, find sacks already on the roster that aren’t overly evident to outside observers or make some move in the next couple of months to help Sweat.

If none of that happens and Sweat ends up sidelined for any significant amount of time, the Bears’ defense will be in serious trouble.

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