The Chicago Bears have the Dallas Cowboys coming into town for a Week 3 contest. As they prepare for this game, they were given some bad injury news about LB T.J. Edwards on Wednesday.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday that Edwards is considered a long shot to play in Week 3 due to a hamstring injury. He was a DNP during Wednesday's practice, and it appears that he won't be on the field on Sunday.
T.J. Edwards Unlikely to Play in Week 3
This hamstring injury isn't new and forced him to miss the Week 1 contest versus the Minnesota Vikings. He was able to return for Week 2 but re-aggravated the injury and had to leave after 30 plays. This suggests that he wasn't fully recovered heading into the game and rushed back to play.
And now he won't be there in a big Week 3 game against Dallas. In his first two seasons in Chicago, Edwards was a reliable force in the middle of the defense, logging 100-plus tackles in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
The fact that he won't be out there isn't ideal for this defense. They will lean on Noah Sewell more, who is second among linebackers in total snaps (91). He has 14 total tackles, with a 66.5 overall grade (38th among 111 graded linebackers) and an 85.4 run-defense grade (9th among 111 graded linebackers) in 2025. The biggest area where he struggles comes as a pass defender, as he has a 42.3 coverage grade (93rd among 111 graded linebackers).
The Bears' defense has been hit hard with injuries already. Jaylon Johnson is out for the year due to a groin injury. Grady Jarrett (knee), Kyler Gordon (hamstring), and Jaylon Jones (hamstring) were all DNP's for Wednesday's practice as well.
This defense has been underwhelming to say the least thus far, and without reinforcements coming in, there's a good chance this unit continues to struggle.
Chicago is already 0-2 and needs to add a win to the column. They have a Week 5 bye, which will help them regroup, but they need to get things going in the right direction. The Bears have been dealt some bad cards defensively, but they need the backup guys to step up.
Injuries are a part of the game, and Chicago is dealing with a flurry of them. It'll be interesting to see how many starters are out and how that unit fares on Sunday. But it's clear this update on Edwards is less than ideal in an uber-important game.