Chicago Sports

New Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger wasn’t interested in excuses for his poor performance at the plate the past two seasons.

Multiple times during his introductory press conference via Zoom on Tuesday he deflected questions about how injuries may have affected his swing.

“I think my favorite thing that I’ve learned is, you can’t change the past, but you can learn from it,” he said. “There were definitely injuries involved, and your body wasn’t moving how it used to, and I can go on and on. But, looking forward, where I’m at right now, I’m feeling really good and confident and strong.”

The Cubs, in offering Bellinger $17.5 million guaranteed for one year (with a 2024 mutual contract option), are betting they’ll at least be able to help Bellinger improve from his last two seasons with the Dodgers, when he posted the third-worst OPS among qualified center fielders.

“He’s a really good fit,” manager David Ross said at the winter meetings two weeks ago, “from a perspective of, it is great defense, great base-running, left-handed bat, with the potential to have an uptick offensively.”

Best-case scenario: Bellinger reclaims the offensive success of his 2019 MVP season. If he doesn’t, he still bolsers the Cubs’ defense up the middle, which is set up to be the club’s strong suit next season.

Bellinger concedes that 2023 is “definitely a big year” for him. Neither he nor the Cubs are expected to pick up the 2024 mutual option, which effectively pushes $5 million dollars to next year’s payroll. The short-term deal amounts to a pillow contract, a term coined by Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras, that will set the stage for his next deal.

“It’s definitely important; I’m not gonna say it’s not,” Bellinger said. “But I think that where I’m at right now, and how I feel mentally, physically, I’m in a pretty good spot. And it just makes me excited to start working out with the staff and talking through whatever we need to talk through to get going.”

Bellinger’s last two seasons were affected by plenty of injuries, but most notably he underwent surgery on his right shoulder in November 2020 and broke his left leg in the first week of the 2021 season. That’s where the feeling Bellinger alluded to, that his body wasn’t moving how it had before, came into play.

Now, mechanically, Bellinger is focussed on his lower half. And he’s working on translating “body-specific training,” as opposed to generalized strength training, into the batting cage.

“Just being athletic and letting my ability take over,” he said.

The Cubs provide some familiarity as Bellinger adjusts his swing. Assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington was a minor-league hitting coach in the Dodgers’ system while Bellinger was making his way up through the ranks. Washington left for the Padres organization in 2016, but Bellinger said they stayed in touch.

“He’s just an intelligent guy and loves baseball,” Bellinger said. “And he’s known me since I was 17, 18 years old.”

Bellinger was 17 when the Dodgers selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He’d spent his whole career in the organization, until the Dodgers non-tendered him last month, thrusting him into free agency.

“A little bittersweet,” Bellinger said. “… But at the end of the day, man, I understood. I don’t have any hard feelings. I get it. And I took it as a new opportunity.”

Less than three weeks later, he agreed to terms with the Cubs.

“I’m excited that I’m going to be able to do this at Wrigley Field, in a Cubs jersey,” he said. “And I understand how special it is to play for both organizations. Pretty cool.”

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Bears coach Matt Eberflus always tries to simulate the projected game conditions at practice during the week, but that’ll be difficult this week.

While the highs are in the 30-degree range through Thursday, the forecast calls for it to plunge below zero Friday and a high of 10 on Saturday with significant wind when the Bears host the Bills. In the meantime, the National Weather Service has issued a warning about blizzard conditions beginning Thursday night.

Eberflus said there haven’t been any precautionary conversations about pushing back the noon kickoff, but there are logistical concerns if the snow proves problematic on the roads. The Bears would typically go downtown Friday and stay in a hotel.

“We’re talking about different things right now to make sure we’re all squared away with travel down to the hotel and all those things,” he said. “We have plans in place to be able to slide things, move things forward, move things back. We’ve already got that ready to go, and our players will be ready.”

Bears plan to practice outside Wednesday, but Eberflus was unsure whether that’d be doable Thursday.

Including playoffs, the Bears are 7-3 at Soldier Field when the temperature is 10 degrees or colder — most recently enduring a minus-9 wind chill to beat the Cowboys 45-28 in 2013 when Eberflus was their linebackers coach.

“Couldn’t feel my feet,” he said. “You had to really make sure all your skin was covered because you would potentially get frostbite and all that, so you had to make sure you used Vaseline on your face to make sure everything’s covered up right.”

Sanborn done

Of the Bears’ more impressive developmental stories of the season is over after they put linebacker Jack Sanborn on injured reserve Tuesday. He hurt his left ankle against the Eagles and was wearing a protective boot and using crutches after the game.

Eberflus downplayed the severity of the injury, saying it wouldn’t have been season-ending if it had happened earlier, but the Bears have just three games remaining.

Sanborn, from Lake Zurich High School, made the team as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin and played 14 games, including six starts after Roquan Smith was traded. He is fifth on the team with 64 tackles and has two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Jenkins ‘looking good’

The scariest injury of the Bears’ season seems far less troubling than it initially appeared. Right guard Teven Jenkins, who was immobilized on the field Sunday after hurting his neck against the Eagles, was back at Halas Hall on Tuesday and might even play against the Bills.

Eberflus said Jenkins was “engaged, walking around [and] looking good,” and the injury is deemed day-to-day.

The Bears held a walk-through instead of practice, but were required to estimate all players’ availability if they had practiced and put Jenkins down as limited. Eberflus said it’s possible he will practice Wednesday or Thursday.

More injury concerns

The team also said wide receiver Chase Claypool (knee) would’ve been limited and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (ribs and finger) would’ve been full-go. It also projected that starting left guard Cody Whitehair (knee) and right tackle Riley Reiff (illness) would’ve been out.

Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown suffered a concussion against the Eagles and remains in the NFL’s protective protocol.

Back to last place

The Packers’ 24-12 win over the Rams on Monday assured the Bears of finishing fourth in the NFC North for the first time since their string of last-place finishes from 2014 through ’17.

While it’s an embarrassment, it carries the benefit of assuring the Bears a theoretically easier schedule next season with games against fellow fourth-place finishers from NFC West, NFC East and AFC North.

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Blackhawks prospect defenseman Isaak Phillips is a very nice guy.

Arguably too nice, Hawks coach Luke Richardson thinks. When the Hawks sent Phillips to Rockford at the end of training camp — despite his solid performance — Richardson asked him to add more grit to his game.

“[He can work on] being a little bit harder, a little bit meaner,” Richardson said on Oct. 4. “Not stupid penalties, not cross-checking people in the head or stuff like that, but more playing hard against the No. 1 players on the other team. Let them know, ‘Oh, I don’t want to play against this guy tonight. It’s going to be a hard night, and I’m going to feel it.'”

Phillips, 21, is now back on the Hawks’ roster for the first time since camp, riding the momentum of 25 fantastic AHL games to start his third professional season. And he believes he has added that edge.

“I’m really working on my physicality,” Phillips said Tuesday. “I’m really coming into my own this year and [feeling] confident in my ability in the corners. I go into a battle thinking I can win it.

“[And] in front of the net, [I’m] protecting our goalie, pushing their players out, being firm and assertive. You don’t have to be a fighter out there, but use your size and make sure the forwards on the other team know who they’re playing against.”

The 6-3, 205-pound Ontario native — despite being nearly two years younger than the Hawks’ second-youngest current player, forward Philipp Kurashev — suddenly sees a juicy opportunity to prove he’s ready to be a full-time NHL defenseman.

Jarred Tinordi, who took a wicked shot to the mouth Sunday, underwent surgery Monday to “fix some fractures in his face” and will be “out for a while,” Richardson said. It’s an unlucky blow for Tinordi, who has also dealt with a back injury and a gash in his chin within the past month. He’d just removed his full face shield for the game Sunday.

Phillips appears, for now, to be Tinordi’s designated replacement. He’ll make his fifth career NHL appearance Wednesday against the Predators in Tinordi’s old spot: on the second pairing with Connor Murphy.

It’s possible the Hawks plan to merely give Phillips another brief taste of the big leagues and will send him back to Rockford next week, but it’s also possible Phillips lasts the duration of Tinordi’s absence.

He does already have 116 AHL games under his belt, and he might not have much left to prove at that level. His plus-17 rating this season leads all AHL defensemen and his 17 points are tied for ninth. His ascension since the Hawks drafted him in the fifth round in 2020 (141st overall) has been remarkably swift.

“We’re not asking him to be a wrecking ball out there,” Richardson said. “We want him to use his skating ability and skills. But we want him to use [those skills] in a way that he defends hard.

“If he can get off to a good start here, it’s going to help us, [and] it’s going to help him become a regular NHL player. It’s good for everybody.”

Part of the reason why Richardson has continually harped on Phillips’ physicality is because the rest of his game is already so reliable.

He’s a great passer, particularly when orchestrating breakouts. And he carries himself with poise beyond his years. He believes his confidence is what has improved most since last season.

“I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything,” Phillips said. “[I’m] just being confident, working on my puck plays at the blue line and moving it quickly, and things seem to be going my way.”

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NEW YORK — The newest Major League Soccer expansion franchise will begin its inaugural campaign on the road when St. Louis City SC plays at Austin FC on Feb. 25 before making its home debut in Week 2 of the 2023 season.

The league on Tuesday released its schedule for next season, highlighted by the debut of St. Louis City, the 29th MLS franchise. St. Louis will be one of 14 teams in the Western Conference, with Nashville shifting to the Eastern Conference and creating a 15-team division.

The Fire will start the season on Saturday March 4 at Soldier Field against New York City FC.

The opening week also will include an El Trafico matchup between MLS Cup champion Los Angeles FC and the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.

Most games will be played on Saturdays with a 7:30 p.m. local start time; a select number will be on Wednesdays. All games will be broadcast through the league’s new streaming deal with Apple called MLS Season Pass. Fox Sports will also air 34 of those games, with 15 on FOX and 19 on FS1.

MLS will take a one-month break after the July 15 games for the Leagues Cup competition, which features all teams from MLS and Liga MX. MLS play will resume on Aug. 20 and the regular season will conclude on Oct. 21.

St. Louis City will debut CITYPARK, its 22,500-seat home stadium, on March 4 while hosting Charlotte FC. Other schedule highlights include rivalry week in mid-May, the MLS All-Star Game in Washington on July 19 and an MLS Cup final rematch between LAFC and Philadelphia on Sept. 23.

The unbalanced divisions will require some schedule juggling. All Eastern Conference teams will play each other twice, along with six games against opponents from the Western Conference. In the 14-team Western Conference, each team will play twice, with one or two additional games against intra-conference opponents.

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The Bears and Bills are at opposite ends of the NFL spectrum today, but they share one tale of ignominy: They both missed on Patrick Mahomes.

The Bills, in fact, might have committed the more egregious error — not only passing on Mahomes with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2017 draft (with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback), but trading the pick to the Chiefs so they could draft Mahomes.

In effect, they handed a major AFC rival the lethal weapon it needed to turn a playoff team into a juggernaut. And the Bills have paid the price — losing to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the playoffs the previous two seasons.

The Mahomes miss has haunted the Bears for years, but it’s just a draft-history footnote in Buffalo. Because while the Bears swung and missed when they traded up from No. 3 to No. 2 to take Mitch Trubisky in 2017, the Bills had a plan — and therein lies a possible template for the Bears to follow with a likely top-five pick in the 2023 draft.

With an eye on the 2018 quarterback class — and knowing they had a lot more holes to fill than just the quarterback — the Bills traded the No. 10 pick in 2017 to the Chiefs for No. 27 overall (they took cornerback Tre’Davious White) and a 2018 first-round pick.

With new general manager Brandon Beane and coach Doug McDermott running the draft, the Bills parlayed the first-round pick from the Chiefs (No. 22 overall) and their own first-round pick (No. 21) into the No. 7 and No. 16 picks in the 2018 draft. And they turned it into a bonanza — drafting quarterback Josh Allen at No. 7 and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds at No. 16.

(The Bills deftly maneuvered to turn No. 21 into No. 7 — first trading No. 21 and lower picks to the Bengals for No. 16, then trading No. 16 and lower picks to the Buccaneers for No. 7.)

So while missing on Mahomes, the Bills used the No. 10 overall pick as the catalyst for trades that eventually netted them Allen (one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL today), Edmunds (a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker), White (a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback), guard Dion Dawkins (a six-year starter who made the Pro Bowl last season) and wide receiver Zay Jones.

The Bills story could come into play for Bears first-year general manager Ryan Poles in the 2023 draft. The Bears currently have the No. 2 overall pick and likely will fall no lower than No. 5. With many holes to fill, Poles’ best move likely will be to take advantage of another team’s desperation for a quarterback and trade that top-five pick for another high pick in 2023 and a 2024 first-rounder — that could turn into … Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr.? Hmmm …

At this point, that’s a dream scenario. But regardless of how you manage the draft, you still have to be astute in evaluation and get the right players. But Poles has one advantage — he has the quarterback already in place.

Right?

2. Justin Fields has not been prolific as a passer this season — he’s averaging a league-low 157.5 passing yards. But his improved accuracy and efficiency is not to be ignored.

Despite being sacked six times in 32 drop-backs, Fields completed 14-of-21 passes for 152 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 119.5 passer rating — against an Eagles defense that came into the game leading the NFL in passer rating against (76.3 –16 touchdowns, 15 interceptions).

The 119.5 rating, in fact, is the highest allowed by the Eagles this season. The Titans’ Ryan Tannehill’s 97.0 was the previous best.

3. Did You Know? Fields’ 119.5 passer rating also is the highest for a quarterback who was sacked six times since Josh Allen had a 138.5 rating despite being sacked seven times against the Seahawks in 2020.

Fields seems to be handling adversity better recently. In two previous games this season when he was sacked five or more times, Fields had a 51.2 passer rating — 19-of-39 (48.7%) for 280 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions against the Texans (five sacks) and Giants (six sacks).

4. The Bears are the only NFL team Josh Allen has not faced. He was out with an elbow injury when the Bears played the Bills in 2018 — current Bears backup Nathan Peterman started and threw three interceptions in a 41-9 Bears rout.

Allen returned two weeks later and has started the Bills’ last 75 games.

There’s something to be said for quarterback durability. Three of the current top four seeds in the playoffs have notably durable quarterbacks: the Chiefs’ Mahomes (88-of-90 starts), the Bills’ Allen (75 consecutive starts) and the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins (117-of-118 starts). And the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts has made 34-of-36 starts pending an injury against the Bears last week.

5. Though he has a ton to prove in the passing game, Fields’ progress this season has been encouraging. But a little advice: Don’t dismiss the skeptics. In a league where only one team wins the championship, only a handful aren’t disappointed with their season and half the league is either firing their coach or a year away from firing their coach, the skeptics have a much higher batting average than the believers.

6. Wide Receivers Matter: It’s tough to argue with Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson giving himself an “A” for his performance against A.J. Brown, as he did during his weekly appearance on the “Parkins & Spiegel Show” on The Score. Johnson’s three pass break-ups are the most in one game against Brown this season.

And yet, Brown still finished with nine receptions for 182 yards in the Eagles’ 25-20 victory. It’s not a coincidence that Jalen Hurts’ passer rating was 87.2 without Brown last year and is 104.6 with Brown this season.

7. This week’s 1st-and-10 web poll question: If the Bears and Eagles switched receiving corps, which teams wins the game?

That’s actually debatable — the Bears lost by five and had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter as it was. But just that it’s debatable given the disparity in the two rosters seems to support the notion that even though the Bears have a lot of holes to fill, a pair of weapons the quality of Brown and DeVonta Smith can fill — or at least cover up — quite a few of them.

8. A tip of the cap to former Bears quarterback Bobby Douglass, whose franchise rushing record was broken by Fields on Sunday. The 6-4, 225-pound left-hander, a second-round draft pick from Kansas in 1969, set the NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback in 1972, when he rushed for 968 yards and eight touchdowns on 141 carries (an NFL-best 6.9 yards per carry).

Douglass, one of two quarterbacks to hand off to Gale Sayers and Walter Payton (Virgil Carter was the other), was a bull in a china shop as a passer — he completed 42% of his passes in six-plus seasons with the Bears.

But his running productivity was unique. Not only did he obliterate the previous NFL record of 530 rushing yards that Lions’ quarterback Greg Landry set in 1971, but Douglass’ record lasted 33 seasons — until Michael Vick rushed for 1,039 yards in 2006. Not bad.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Saints quarterback Andy Dalton completed 11-of-17 passes for 151 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions of a 132.2 passer rating in a 21-18 victory over the Falcons.

10. Bear-ometer: 4-13 — vs. Bills (L); at Lions (L); vs. Vikings (W).

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Schools around the state have approved an addition to the Illinois High School Association’s recruiting rule.

Administrators from three south suburban schools — Andrew, Sandburg and Stagg — wrote and submitted the proposal, which modifies IHSA bylaw 3.070, Recruiting of Athletes. This new sentence will be added to the bylaw:

“School personnel, particularly coaches or athletic directors, may not engage in any conversation related to athletic participation with individuals representing or employed by private athletic organizations (eg. AAU, club/travel teams, etc.) who are speaking about or on behalf of any student athlete.”

According to the IHSA 513 of 813 schools voted on the proposal. A simple majority was required to pass the rule. No margin of vote was provided by the IHSA.

Young basketball coach Tyrone Slaughter, who coaches club basketball in Thorton coach Tai Streets’ Meanstreets AAU organization, has issues with the new rule.

“The is probably as short-sighted and petulant a rule as I’ve ever seen,” Slaughter said. “The ambiguity is so wide that it can’t be interpreted. They should really be ashamed of themselves for what they attempted to do.”

Steve Schanz, Sandburg’s athletic director, says the sentence is “purposely vague.”

“This is a first step,” Schanz said. “The key is the quid pro quo where people are saying if you hire me you are going to get these guys on your team. There are a number of schools where you see coaches get hired and then you see one high-profile guy or five guys go there.”

IHSA rules already prohibit any recruiting for athletic reasons, but it is increasingly rare for any athletes that transfer to be ruled ineligible at all or for more than 30 days.

“We have schools that are flat out breaking the rules and they are flaunting it,” Schanz said. “Getting something on the books about this is a step in the right direction. Especially if there is a way we can add to it in the coming years based on reality and what is going on. Coaches are fed up.”

More than 100 boys basketball players transferred over the summer. Some high-profile basketball teams have starting lineups composed primarily of transfers.

“Maybe there are some schools that are doing it just to keep up?” Schanz said. “That’s sad. They are opening up Pandora’s box, all for the glory. Maybe this proposal gives them the opportunity to stop it.”

Seven other proposals were passed, including new language to the IHSA’s Name, Image and Likeness rule and an increase in the contribution schols can make towards state championship rings. It has been raised from $200 to $300.

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Not an Overreaction: Justin Jefferson is the best receiver in the NFL.

Justin Jefferson has been electric since entering the NFL but has taken his game to another level in 2022. Jefferson currently leads the NFL in reception (111) and receiving yards (1,623). Jefferson has been a major factor in each of the Viking’s 10 wins and was instrumental in their historic comeback against the Colts, tallying 12 catches for 123 yards and one touchdown, as the Vikings came back from a 33-0 deficit in the first half.

Jefferson has the potential to erupt at any point in the game, having five games with 10+ catches and nine games where he has gone over 100 yards. Jefferson holds the record for most receiving yards by a player in his first three seasons, which was formerly held by Randy Moss. With just nine more receiving yards he will break Moss’s single-season receiving record with the Vikings of 1,632. 

Jefferson has almost a 100-yard lead on Tyreek Hill for the NFL leader in receiving yards and has a 300-yard lead over Stefon Diggs who is in third place currently with 3 games left in the NFL season. The question isn’t whether is Jefferson the greatest receiver in the NFL, but whether will he be one of the greatest, if not the greatest to ever play the position.

Overreaction: Jalen Hurts should win the MVP over Patrick Mahomes.

As the regular season winds down eyes are starting to shift to the season awards and it’s currently a two-horse race for NFL MVP and these are their arguments.

Jalen Hurts has had a transformative season for the Eagles, taking them to first place in the NFC, having an MVP-caliber season, and a potentially deep run in the playoffs. Hurts has thrown for 3,472 yards and has a touchdown/interception ratio of 22:5. He has also rushed for 747 yards and 13 touchdowns through 15 weeks. Hurts has led the Eagles to a 13-1 record with their only loss coming at the hands of the Washington (7-6-1) Commanders 32-21. The addition of NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown has taken the Eagle’s offense and Hurts production to another level in 2022.

Patrick Mahomes lost Tyreek Hill in the offseason and the Chiefs opted for a quantity of weapons over quality. Bringing in Juju Smith-Shuster, and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and trading for Kadarius Toney in the middle of the season, the Chiefs asked Mahomes to spread the ball around this season and it has paid dividends.

The Chiefs are 11-3 with a questionable loss to the Indianapolis Colts in week three of 20-17, their loss to the Bills in week four was 24-20 and their most recent 27-24 loss to the Bengals have all been one-score losses. Mahomes has thrown for 4,496 yards, (1,000 more yards than Hurts) thrown 35 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions (13 more touchdowns, but more than twice as many pics). Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yards and is 500 yards ahead of the next closest quarterback, he has also rushed for 313 yards and 3 scores.

Mahomes is on pace for 5,551 yards this season and would break the single-season passing record (5,477 yards) set by Peyton Manning in 2013. Mahomes and the Chiefs just secured their seventh straight division title and are fighting the Bills for the number one seat in the NFL playoffs. Mahomes has 1,000 more passing yards than Hurts and more total TDs, but Hurts has the better record and better TD/INT ratio and the number one seat locked up for his team. The award feels like Mahomes to lose with him having the best odds (-225) to win NFL MVP.

Overreaction: Trevor Lawrence was good all along

Trevor Lawrence has had a rocky start to his NFL career. With the failed Urban Meyer experiment Lawrence, who was graded as “the next Peyton Manning” coming out of Clemson struggled mightily in his first season. Completing just 59.% of his passes and throwing for 3,641 yards 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions Lawrence looked anything like a hall of fame to be QB.

A year later with Doug Peterson at the helm, calling the plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars, they have a real shot to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Lawrence has grown in year two but still has room for improvement before he lives up to the monumental expectations and standards he was compared to. Since Peterson has taken over Lawrence improved tremendously, throwing for 3,520 yards, completing 66% of his passes, and having a positive touchdown/interception ratio of 24:7.

In the NFL it isn’t just all on one player, as talented as they are they need the right system and players around them to succeed. Lawrence has had his struggles, but with the Jags trading for Calvin Ridley, it is clear they are all in on Lawrence and his future growth. If the Jaguars win out with three weeks left in the season, they will make the playoffs, Urban Meyer’s tenure as head coach will look even worse, and his legacy will be that he almost wasted a generational talent.

Not an Overreaction: The Lions could make the Playoffs.

The once 1-5 Detroit Lions are on the cusp of a playoff berth just one year into their rebuild. Dan Campbell and his coaching staff have completely transformed the culture of winning for the Lions this season. The Lions at one point had the number one offense in the NFL and the worst defense in the NFL, but since have found a way to win.

The Lions are 7-7 on a three-game win streak and face the Panthers, (5-9) Bears, (3-11) and the Packers (6-8) to close out their 2022 regular season. The Lions have already beaten the Packers and Bears before and would need to sweep both teams this season to maintain playoff contention. Detroit hasn’t swept the Packers and the Bears in the same season since 2017.

The Lions would need some help to sneak into the Playoff. Needing to finish 3-0 down the stretch and have the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks both lose once The Lions could reach the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Seahawks play the Chiefs next so they may get the first domino to fall and the Commanders have to play the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. There is a real chance for the Lions to control their destiny and make the playoffs this season.

What did you think of these overreactions? were there any that I missed? Comment below and give your feedback on Week 15.

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The Bears added a former All-SEC LB to the PS

The Chicago Bears are preparing on a short week to play the Buffalo Bills on Christmas Eve Saturday. The Bears appear to be making some changes to the roster before the end of the season. With the Bears eliminated from the playoffs, the next three games will serve as a chance for the staff to evaluate the team’s talent before the offseason. The Bears appear to be taking a chance on a former All-SEC linebacker.

According to a statement by the Bears, defensive back Justin Layne and linebacker Elijah Lee were released. They signed two more defenders to the practice squad. Linebacker Kuony Deng (Bears Communications misspelled the new practice squad member’s name.) and defensive end Terrell Lewis have been signed to the practice squad.

Deng is a rookie who played linebacker for California. He spent time with the Atlanta Falcons in training camp but was waived in mid-August.

Lewis was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Lewis made second-team All-SEC honors at Alabama in 2019. He was a part of Alabama’s national championship in 2017 and the Rams’ Super Bowl last season.

The Rams waived Lewis on Dec. 15th. He appeared in 30 games for the Rams during his three seasons in Los Angeles. Lewis forced one fumble and had six sacks with the Rams. The Bears could develop this potential player in head coach Matt Eberflus’ system. The Bears are short at linebacker, and Lewis could use a second chance.

The Bears announced Tuesday that they officially brought back running back Khalil Herbert from the injured reserve.

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A fan-favorite Bears linebacker is out for the season

The Chicago Bears are getting ready to play one of their most challenging games on the schedule. The Buffalo Bills will head into Chicago with one other league’s best quarterbacks. A Bears linebacker who had been playing well as Roquan Smith’s replacement will not be able to play Saturday.

According to Adam Hoge with CHGO Sports, undrafted rookie free agent Jack Sanborn is headed to the injured reserve. He will not play again for the Bears this season.

Sanborn suffered an ankle injury in the second half of the Bears’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15. The Bears appeared to foreshadow terrible news with an injury at linebacker, as they signed a linebacker to the practice squad Tuesday. Sanborn had been getting a lot of attention from Bears players and staff for his play the past month. He’s been compared to Bears’ great Brian Urlacher in the locker room.

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Bears rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn, one of the team’s bigger developmental success stories, is out for the rest of the season after suffering a left ankle injury against the Eagles.

The Bears have three games left, starting Saturday against the Bills. Coach Matt Eberflus downplayed the severity of the injury Tuesday, saying if it had happened earlier in the season, Sanborn would’ve been expected to return.

Sanborn, from Lake Zurich High School, made the team as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin and played 14 games, including six starts. He replaced Roquan Smith in the lineup when the Bears traded him to the Ravens midseason.

Sanborn is fifth on the team with 64 tackles and has two sacks and a fumble recovery.

“Just his maturity, his ability to handle that space,” Eberflus said when asked what impressed him about Sanborn. “He had a lot of tackling production. He’s an impactful player, and we’re excited to have him.”

The Bears played journeyman Joe Thomas in Sanborn’s place when he got hurt Sunday, and he had six tackles, including the team’s only sack.

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