The Chicago Bears were already lacking depth and quality in their pass rush rotation since the start of the season. Dayo Odeyingbo didn't get off to the start the Bears were hoping for when they added him in the offseason. Montez Sweat didn't look as impactful as he did when he first arrived in Chicago, and Austin Booker has still not made his season debut.
And just when the Bears were beginning to show signs of life in their pass rush rotation, the injury bug hit.
Dominique Robinson is expected to miss multiple weeks with an ankle sprain, and rookie Shemar Turner, who has seen snaps as a pass rusher, will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL tear. This left the Bears with only three healthy defensive ends on the roster (Odeyingbo, Sweat, and Daniel Hardy), forcing them to sign someone on Tuesday.
Bears Sign Former Packers DE Jonathan Garvin on Tuesday
On Tuesday morning, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that Chicago was signing former Packers defender Jonathan Garvin to their practice squad.
Garvin was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and played a total of 38 games for the Packers in three seasons before his release in the 2023 offseason. During his tenure in Green Bay, he put up 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss.
He has been out of the NFL for two years, spending time in the UFL, winning a title with the Birmingham Stallions. He spent the majority of last season on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad before getting released as part of the final roster cuts in August.
The 26-year-old defender now joins fellow defensive end Jamree Kromah on the practice squad, as one of the two has a very good chance to be elevated for the Bears' Week 8 clash against the Cincinnati Bengals. Kromah has yet to make his NFL debut, and Garvin hasn't played in an NFL regular-season game in almost three years, so it's hard for Bears fans to feel particularly good about either player. But Kromah has played in all three of Chicago's preseason games and looked good in his 59 defensive snaps, so he may have the leg up over Garvin.
Depending on Booker's status for the rest of the season, however, the Bears may need to make a bigger move ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline to add more depth and quality to the position. The regular season is nearly halfway done, and among many things that head coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles must solve to make the playoffs is getting the pass rush back on track.