The Chicago Bears won’t likely have one of their highest-paid defensive starters on the field when they open practice for their 2026 training camp next week.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Bears placed veteran linebacker T.J. Edwards on the active/non-football injury (NFI) list with an unspecified injury during their first window for rookies and other players to report for camp on Saturday, July 25.
Encouragingly, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport indicated that Edwards shouldn’t have to stay on the NFI list for long, as he is dealing with a “minor muscle strain.” That said, it is a situation worth monitoring after Edwards missed time with injuries in 2025.
The Bears also placed several players on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP), including rookie linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, slot cornerback Kyler Gordon, linebacker Noah Sewell, left tackle Ozzy Trapilo and defensive lineman Shemar Turner.
T.J. Edwards Cannot Afford Injury-Riddled Summer
Based on Rapoport’s report, Edwards might not spend much time at all on the NFI list. If the Bears medically clear him in time, the 29-year-old linebacker could potentially return before they hold their first training-camp practice on Wednesday, July 29.
Even still, it is good business for the Bears to proceed carefully with Edwards after they had to struggle through significant portions of the 2025 season without him available.
Edwards missed seven of the Bears’ regular-season games with hamstring injuries in 2025 and fractured his fibula in their wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers, putting him out of commission for the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams.
While the Bears may feel inclined to write off Edwards’ rough 2025 season as a fluke given that he missed just five games in his previous six seasons — and none for them — they also took steps to prepare for the possibility that he won’t bounce back into form.
During the offseason, the Bears cut ties with veteran Tremaine Edmunds, but they also handed out a three-year, $30 million contract to former first-round pick Devin Bush, signed D’Marco Jackson — Edwards’ injury replacement in 2025 — to a two-year extension and added more depth with Elliott in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Point being, there is room for Edwards to show that his injury troubles are behind him, but he also may not see the end of his current $20 million contract if the issues persist.
Bears Could Start Training Camp Thin at Linebacker
Even if Edwards is quickly cleared to return, the Bears may find themselves a little thin at the linebacker position in the early days of camp with Elliott and Sewell out as well.
Sewell is still recovering from the Achilles tear that he sustained on December 28 in the Bears’ late-season loss to the San Francisco 49ers and his subsequent repair surgery, so his placement on the PUP list is hardly a surprise. More surprising is Elliott’s case.
Elliott missed some time in spring workouts with an undisclosed injury, but the team had not indicated that the fifth-round rookie would not be ready for the start of camp. Like Edwards, though, Elliott can return to action immediately once the Bears’ training staff clears him to return, meaning his starting on the injury list may prove irrelevant.
At the same time, the Bears likely have enough linebackers to make it through the first several unpadded practices with Bush, Jackson, Ruben Hyppolite and 2026 free-agent returnee Jack Sanborn, among others, all looking to secure roles on the depth chart.
Bears Place $20 Million Defensive Starter on Injury List Before Camp