What the Heck Are the Bears Going to Do at Linebacker in Week 12? ...Middle East

The history of Chicago Bears linebackers is rich.

Unfortunately, none of the legends who made their calling roaming from sideline to sideline for Chicago’s football team are walking through that tunnel to save the team by suiting up for its Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Insetad, the Bears will have to patch together a group of linebackers after the team’s Friday injury report ruled out three starters. Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, and Noah Sewell will miss Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh due to their respective injuries. It is a bummer, to be sure. But the way I see it, this is an opportuity for someone to step up and make a name for themselves.

Let’s discuss some options.

Bears linebackers to watch in Week 12 vs. the Steelers

BEARS LINEBACKERS WHO ARE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO PLAY

With Bears linebackers T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, and Noah Sewell out of action, two names immediately come to mind as possible Week 12 stop-gap options — Ruben Hyppolite II and D’Marco Jackson. Neither of those players are household names. And one of them is a rookie with minimal experience. It is a tall task to ask much from either player, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m not sure you can get any more desperate than being down three starters.

Ruben Hyppolite II was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. There was hope this summer that the University of Maryland product could play his was into the starting lineup. However, that has not happened. Moreover, there have been a handful of games in which Hyppolite has been a healthy scratch. That isn’t ideal. The rookie has played in just six of the team’s first 10 games and has appeared on just 18 defensive snaps. For what it’s worth, Hyppolite has been in on 49 percent of the team’s special teams snaps. So if he would like a bigger chunk of the snap share pie, playing well in a surprise start would be a way to do it.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEARS ROOKIE RUBEN HYPPOLITE II

Even though Amen Ogbongbemiga has been with the team longer, it is easier for me to envision D’Marco Jackson starting with the Bears linebackers on Sunday.

Jackson, 27, is in his third year as a pro. If it turns out that he does start, it will be his first as a pro. The Appalachian State product was a fifth-round draft pick (161st overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the 2022 NFL Draft. His head coach for the first two years in New Orleans was current Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen. While he did not get any playing time in 2022, he played 27 games in the 2023-24 seasons. His familiarity with Allen’s system probably gives him a leg up to start.

BEARS LINEBACKERS ON THE PRACTICE SQUAD

The following Bears linebackers are on the practice squad:

That’s it! There are just two linebackers on Chicago’s practice squad. I imagine both will be flexed onto the active roster on Saturday afternoon when those decisions need to be made officially official. The most notable of the two is Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who has been a Pro Bowler as a special teams contributor and has some starting experience. Reeves-Maybin started 11 of 15 games he appeared in with the Detroit Lions in 2021. His 55.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021 ranked 40th of 87 qualifying linebackers. For what it’s worth, Reeves-Maybin’s 70.4 pass rush grade checked in as the 19th best among the 87 linebackers who played enough snaps to qualify for the leaderboard.

TIME FOR DENNIS ALLEN TO GET CREATIVE

If push comes to shove, Chicago’s defense could counterpunch with sub packages featuring deefnsive backs playing iplace of Bears linebackers. This isn’t necessarily unheard of, but it would certainly be a roll of the dice. I can see defensive alignments that include C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks, Josh Blackwell, and Nick McCloud playing in the box. It isn’t ideal, but the alternatives are slim.

If the Bears were healthier at cornerback, this might be an easier decision to make. For instance, a healthy Kyler Gordon playing in the nickel corner position is something that could push the versatile Gardner-Johnson into a box linebacker role. Perhaps hard-hitting Jaquan Brisker could play that role in a pinch. This is where defensive versatility can be so valuable.

In any case, finding Bears linebackers who can play on Sunday is going to be a challenge. I hope Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen is up for it.

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