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Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
The Chicago Bears are looking like they could be much closer to full strength on defense for their division showdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.
While the Bears did not practice on Wednesday, December 3, the team’s injury report estimated that veteran linebacker T.J. Edwards would have been a limited participant, indicating he could return to practice this week for the first time since November 2.
Edwards has missed four straight games for the Bears after emerging from Week 9’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals with a broken right hand — which required surgery — and a re-aggravated hamstring issue that has nagged him since early in the season.
While the Bears are still listing him with both injuries on the injury report, Edwards’ projected return suggests his hamstring injury is improving. The Bears have already said that the plan is for Edwards to play with a cast on his right hand while the break heals, so getting clear of the hamstring injury seems the larger hurdle at this point.
The Bears also estimated linebacker Noah Sewell returning to full participation on December 3’s injury report. He has not played or practiced since suffering an elbow injury that did not cause him to exit during Week 11’s win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Edwards and Sewell are two of the Bears’ top three linebackers, meaning that returning even one of them to the lineup would offer a boost to their defense against the Packers. They are still without veteran starter Tremaine Edmunds, who is on injured reserve.
The Bears (9-3) kick off against the Packers (8-3-1) at 4:25 p.m. ET on December 7.
Injuries Have Derailed T.J. Edwards’ 2025 Season
Edwards has seemingly taken the first step toward returning to the lineup, but his health could remain a question mark for Chicago even once he is cleared to return.
Injuries have been a significant problem for Edwards in his seventh NFL season. He missed training camp and the season opener with a hamstring injury, then returned to play 31 total snaps against Detroit in Week 2 before missing two more games. While he seemed to have turned a corner coming out of Week 5’s bye, it lasted just four games before he re-aggravated the hamstring issue and sustained a fracture to his right hand.
At this point, Edwards has already missed a career-high seven games with injuries. And while the Bears will gladly welcome him back to the lineup when he is healthy again, his nagging hamstring issue may cause them to take it even slower with working him back.
In other words, Edwards may show progress throughout the week of practice before the Packers game, but the Bears could keep him inactive and give him another week to heal.
Bears Estimated 4 Players as ‘DNP’ to Start Week 14
The estimations for Edwards and Sewell provided the Bears with some encouraging injury news, but not everything on the injury report was positive for them.
The Bears’ first injury report estimated that neither cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) nor rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II (shoulder) would have practiced for the team if they had held a session on Wednesday, December 3. They also marked down running back Kyle Monangai (ankle) and wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) as non-participants.
Fortunately for the Bears, Edwards was the only other player estimated to have any sort of limitation. They projected that defensive lineman Andrew Billings (concussion), Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin) and defensive end Dominique Robinson (concussion) would have all been full participants in the day’s practice.
Jordan J. Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports — high school, college and pro — for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson
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