Not many Chicago Bears fans are going to be too surprised to hear the news on injured linebacker Noah Sewell, but it'll sting nonetheless.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed with reporters that Sewell will be placed on IR and his season is over. Sewell was knocked out of the 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 after injuring his lower leg, which has since been confirmed as a torn Achilles injury.
Injuries to Sewell have plagued this season, but he still managed to play in 13 games. He had a career season with 59 tackles, three tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.
Bears must make their playoff run without Noah Sewell
The Chicago Bears have gone through a lot at linebacker, with pretty much every linebacker except for D'Marco Jackson having been hurt in some capacity. Chicago will still have their top linebacker, T.J. Edwards, and Tremaine Edmunds holding down the fort.
As for the reserves, expect Jackson to get a bigger role on defense and be mixed into the rotation. Rookie Ruben Hyppolite II will also get some looks at linebacker for the Bears.
The Bears are still solid at linebacker, but this hurts their depth, and it also affects their special teams, as Sewell did it all for Chicago. From playing on defense to running down on kickoffs, he was a force wherever he was on the field.
This was an excellent season for Sewell, who showed great promise in the preseason but really got to flourish in the regular season for the first time in his three-year NFL career. Now he faces the long journey of recovery, which doesn't even guarantee he will be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign.
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Chicago has gone through this all season with key defensive injuries, and this is no exception. One good thing about this Bears team is its resilience.