The Chicago Bears made somewhat surprising news when they announced that they would be signing Bruce Irvin. Of course, his status for Sunday’s game is up in the air, and he would be limited at best. Still, this is a former first-round pick.
While Bruce Irvin had a down season in 2020, he had 8.5 sacks in 2019. Considering his age, and status, he is not just signing to collect a paycheck. The team is calling on him because they need him to play, and he is signing because he sees a chance to play.
Plus, as Ian Rappoport mentions, this move is to help with the Khalil Mack injury.
Veteran pass-rusher Bruce Irvin has signed with the #Bears, source said. With Khalil Mack banged up, some help on the edge.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 18, 2021
This is where the Bruce Irvin signing gets alarming. Khalil Mack has missed the past two games and is trending to miss another. In fact, he has not even been on the practice field. Now, the team is signing a player who is a veteran and looking to play. That means that Mack is not going to play for a few more weeks.
The Chicago Bears have to make a move to create a roster spot for Bruce Irvin. That very well could be placing Mack on the IR, meaning he would miss the next three games as well. That would be Baltimore, the Thanksgiving game, and the Arizona game. The Bears realize that if Mack is not practicing this week he is not going to make the quick turnaround for Thursday. That leaves him at best questionable to come back for Arizona, so he may just be deemed out.
The only reason Bruce Irvin would sign is if he thought he would get significant work for at least three games, and a quick stretch on Thanksgiving as well. It is good news that they are adding reinforcements, but their three-man edge rush of Mack, Robert Quinn, and Trevis Gipson may turn into Gipson, Quinn, and Irvin for the next three weeks. They could not keep going with just Gipson and Quinn.