The Chicago Bears have quietly made a roster move that could help boost their defensive line in the near future, even though it won’t help them during Week 3’s showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
According to The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, the Bears designated second-year defensive end Shemar Turner to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Wednesday, officially opening his 21-day activation window to return to practice.
Turner is now cleared to practice for the Bears, but he is not eligible to return to the 53-man roster until after the team plays its fourth regular-season game. That said, it is encouraging that Chicago has opened his practice window at the earliest opportunity.
The Bears also designated linebacker Noah Sewell to return to practice, leaving just one PUP list player — cornerback Kyler Gordon — with an unclear return trajectory.
The Bears will take on the Eagles for Monday Night Football on September 28.
Shemar Turner on Track to Return by Week 6 — At Latest
Turner began the season on the PUP list as he continued to work back from the ACL tear that he sustained during Week 8’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens on October 26.
New NFL rules, however, allow teams to designate players for return to practice after just two games, even though they cannot rejoin the active roster until after Week 4.
What this means for Turner and Sewell is that the Bears expect they will be ready to return to the 53-man roster by Week 6’s matchup with the Atlanta Falcons at the latest.
A player who cannot return to the active roster within his 21-day activation window must spend the rest of the season on the injury list. In other words, the Bears would not designate Turner and Sewell to return to practice two weeks before they are eligible to return to the active roster if they were confident about each player’s recovery status.
The Bears will have an opportunity to add Turner or Sewell back to the 53-man roster before then, but the window is narrow. The soonest either is eligible to return to the active roster is before Week 5’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Bears Did Not Open CB Kyler Gordon’s Practice Window
While Turner and Sewell are now on clear trajectories to return, Gordon’s situation is still largely uncertain after he missed his first in-season window to return to practice.
Gordon — who is in the first year of his three-year, $40 million contract — has not practiced for the Bears since the second week of the 2025 NFL postseason, missing spring workouts and all of training camp with a nagging calf injury that remains unresolved.
The situation has caused frustration for the Bears, who had Gordon on the field for only three games during the 2025 regular season due to similar soft-tissue injuries. Bears head coach Ben Johnson has also been curt when giving updates on Gordon.
If Gordon were close to returning, the Bears would have designated him for return along with Turner and Sewell. Instead, the mystery will endure a little longer.
Bears Quietly Make Move to Boost DL Before Week 3 Showdown