The Chicago Bears were decimated at linebacker ahead of their Week 12 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. All three starters -- Tremaine Edmunds, Noah Sewell, and TJ Edwards -- were all ruled out with various injuries, forcing Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen to rely on their depth.
That presented a massive opportunity for rookie Ruben Hyppolite. The fourth-round pick got his first career start on Sunday, but things didn't go according to plan as Hyppolite, as he suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter and never returned, continuing a nightmare for his first NFL campaign.
Ruben Hyppolite Left First NFL Start Early With Shoulder Injury
Hyppolite wasting a golden opportunity is certainly disappointing, both for him and the Bears, who are rapidly running out of bodies in the LB rotation. D'Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga stepped up in Chicago's time of need, delivering massive performances.
Jackson, who wore the green dot for the Bears' defense, finished with 15 tackles, and Ogbongbemiga had 14 tackles. Chicago even had to rely on Carl Jones Jr., who was brought up from the practice squad on Saturday.
The Bears' getting this level of production from defenders who logged so few snaps previously is impressive, but they should still be worried going forward, especially with how Hyppolite's rookie campaign has been going.
The 24-year-old defender was not only a scrutinized draft pick to begin with, but he has also stumbled right out of the gate. The Bears took a big chance on him way earlier than he was mocked ahead of the draft. So far, Hyppolite hasn't proven them right. He lost the third linebacker job to Noah Sewell and has squandered the opportunities he was presented.
Hyppolite was in line for an increased opportunity against the Giants in Week 10 after Edwards was ruled out, but he still wasn't able to crack the rotation and suffered a knee injury in the second half, and was ruled out. He didn't see a defensive snap in the last two weeks despite Edwards' absence, and had only 18 defensive snaps on the season until this week.
Edmunds landed on the injured reserve list, and the Bears are on a short week, putting Edwards and Sewell's availabilities in jeopardy. If Hyppolite is healthy, there will continue to be opportunities for him. However, he is presumably behind the likes of Ogbongbemiga and Jackson in the depth chart.
He has to show a lot more in the final stretch to avoid draft bust conversations going into the offseason.