The Chicago Bears have a reinforcement coming at edge rusher this week, which is especially important after Montez Sweat's unexpected suspension.
On Tuesday, the Bears announced they have activated defensive lineman Shemar Turner off the physically unable to perform list. The corresponding move was the addition of Sweat to the reserve/suspended list.
Turner suffered a torn ACL last season, limiting him to just five games during his rookie campaign. The 2025 second-round pick had his 21-day practice window opened weeks ago and was coming up on the deadline before his activation on Tuesday.
The move comes on the same day Sweat was served a two-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Sweat will be out for the Week 6 game against the Atlanta Falcons and the Week 7 contest versus the New England Patriots, barring a successful appeal.
Sweat had posted two sacks and 13 pressures so far this season, ranking third and second on the team, respectively, according to Pro Football Focus.
What Shemar Turner brings to Bears
To be quite frank, we have no clue.
Turner had a disappointing rookie season before his injury after he didn't post a single sack or pressure over 74 snaps.
Upon his return on Sunday, Turner, who hasn't played in a game in nearly a full calendar year, isn't likely to play a full complement of snaps, so Chicago is going to need contributions from others.
Along with Turner, the Bears also have Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo as their starters, and James Lynch, Daniel Hardy and Jamree Kromah as backups.
However, there's a chance the Bears won't have Odeyingbo, which would only make matters worse in the wake of Sweat's ban.
Concern for Dayo Odeyingbo
Odeyingbo is not even certain to play this week after he left the brutal loss to the Green Bay Packers early with a quad injury. Odeyingbo started off questionable to return before he was doubtful and ultimately did not return to the game.
We do not have a concrete update on Odeyingbo's status for the Week 6 game against the Falcons yet.
It's bad enough that Sweat is going to miss to games, but losing Odeyingbo would be even worse because he has been arguably the team's best edge rushers this season, which has been a pleasant surprise after he entered this season with low expectations.
Odeyingbo ranks second in sacks with three behind Austin Booker, but he owns the team lead in pressures with 14.
We'll know more about Odeyingbo's situation on Wednesday, when the Bears drop their first injury report of the week.
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