Chicago Bears: 3 players who stood out in the Hall of Fame Game

Isaiah Irving

The bears gave outside linebacker Isaiah Irving a shot last season as an undrafted rookie free agent. Irving played limited snaps in seven games before getting injured in week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Some bears coaches were optimistic about Irving heading into training camp, and he impressed with his performance on Thursday night.

Irving had a great strip sack of Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III early in the game, but he was called offside on the play. Later in the quarter, Irving finally got through to Griffin for a sack and forced the Ravens to settle for a field goal. Irving finished the first half with three total tackles, including one tackle for loss and one sack.

The Bears are in desperate need of edge rushers this season. The team missed out on star defensive end Bradley Chubb in the draft and didn’t add any big-name pass rushers in free agency. Irving was a name that a lot of fans considered a sleeper pick to have an impact this season. It was only one game, but Irving really made some people look smart on Thursday.

The Bears don’t have a ton of depth at outside linebacker or defensive end, so Irving could end up getting a lot more playing time than he did last season. Irving only played 43 defensive snaps last year, so expect that number to go up dramatically this season.