The Chicago Bears have been banged up on the defensive side of the ball all season. While the injuries in the defensive backfield have understandably received most of the attention, the Bears have also been dealing with the absences of Grady Jarrett, Austin Booker, and TJ Edwards. Chicago currently has the worst run defense in the league in terms of yards per carry, and one of the big reasons for that has been the injury to Jarrett.
Jarrett joined the Bears on a three-year, $43.5 million deal in the offseason after becoming a fan favorite for the Atlanta Falcons over the past ten seasons. The veteran defensive tackle was expected to be a leader in Chicago, helping the team's struggling defensive line. So far, that hasn't been the case.
The Grady Jarrett Experience Has Been Frustrating So Far
The 32-year-old had been dealing with a knee injury for a few weeks before eventually being ruled out in Week 4. Unfortunately, things don't appear to have improved much since then. The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain reported on Tuesday that Jarrett didn't participate in the light practice the Bears held in their return from the bye week.
Since the Bears don't play until Monday, fans won't see an official injury report until Thursday. Still, Jarrett's inability to participate in practice despite having an additional week of rest is concerning.
Jarrett has been one of the most reliable and durable defensive linemen in the league throughout his career, not missing a game in five of his six most recent seasons with the Falcons. However, this is the risk of signing a 32-year-old defender with a ton of mileage on his body to a multiyear deal.
In Jarrett's absence, the Bears have been relying on Andrew Billings to start next to Gervon Dexter Sr. As a result, the defensive line has been struggling both in run defense (fourth-worst grade per PFF) and pass rush (11th-worst grade per PFF).
Unfortunately, Jarrett himself may not be enough to turn things around for the Bears, as he is the lowest graded interior defensive lineman on the team on PFF. His career-worst defensive grade of 55.7 and pass rush grade of 56.8 leave plenty to be desired.
Bears fans hope that this downward turn in production is the result of the knee injury Jarrett has been dealing with, rather than the reality of where he is as a player at this stage of his career. The Bears need to address their defensive line play immediately, and Jarrett has to be a big part of that. Whether he can bounce back and be part of the answer at that position remains to be seen.