The Chicago Bears have the fewest sacks in the NFL after five weeks. Having only five sacks in four games underlines the lack of pressure the Bears' defense is generating. Fortunately, the latest news on Austin Booker could help boost Chicago's pass rush.
Since the Bears are playing on Monday night, they didn't hold practice on Thursday, but they still had to release an estimated injury report. Per The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, this report listed Booker as a full participant, along with TJ Edwards, Travis Homer, and Cairo Santos, who have all been dealing with various injuries in recent weeks.
Austin Booker Getting Ready to Make His Season Debut
This significantly increases the chances of Booker suiting up against the Washington Commanders. The second-year defender had suffered a knee injury in his second preseason game, while he was in coverage on special teams. Until that injury, Booker had five sacks, one QB hit, and three hurries in only 47 defensive snaps. That level of production in such a small sample teased a big breakout campaign for Booker, but those dreams had to be postponed until now.
The Bears opened Booker's 21-day practice window earlier this week, meaning that he wouldn't count against the 53-man roster until he was activated. While Chicago still has time before having to decide on taking Booker off the injured reserve list, all signs are pointing towards the fifth-round pick's season debut on Monday.
If the Bears didn't desperately need Booker, one could argue that they could bring him along slowly and give him time to re-integrate with the team. While it's possible that Ben Johnson and DC Dennis Allen will want to limit Booker's snaps in his return, the Bears need all that they can get from the second-year defender.
Dayo Odeyingbo was supposed to take on a large role in Booker's absence, but the offseason addition has been largely disappointing so far, ranking as the 91st-best defensive end out of 109 eligible players in the league per Pro Football Focus defensive grades. Tanoh Kpassagnon and Dominique Robinson haven't done much, and Montez Sweat is not at the level he was when he first arrived in Chicago. A high-upside playmaker like Booker is needed in that pass rush rotation.
The Bears obviously have big defensive problems that can't be solved by Booker alone. Yet, putting more pressure on the opposing quarterbacks is a great way to start improving on that end.