Chicago Bears: 5 Things to Watch for in Week 2

Nick Kwiatkoski

Two days after the Bears’ loss to Atlanta, the ball club made the surprising announcement of starting inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman being added to injured reserve with a pectoral injury. The next man up will be second-year linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. Filling in for Freeman won’t be unfamiliar territory for Kwiatkoski. In Week 12 of the 2016 season, Kwiatkoski stepped in after Freeman was hit with a four-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. Kwiatkoski remained in the starting lineup for the remainder of the year. During that time span, he recorded 67 tackles. Along with fellow inside linebacker Danny Trevathan, Kwiatkoski should help stop Tampa’s running game, which was ranked near the bottom of the league last year.