3 Chicago Bears primed to breakout in the second half

2. The Chicago Bears should give Jack Sanborn another look at starting

Jack Sanborn started in place of Tremaine Edmunds on Sunday and he looked good. To be fair, he was the victim of a couple of catches in coverage, and he was always weaker in that area. Still, Tremaine Edmunds was signed because he was supposed to be an upgrade over Sanborn in that area and that has not shown on the football field.

On top of that, Sanborn was excellent in run defense against the New Orleans Saints. He has been in the scheme longer, but the UDFA looked more equipped to run the Chicago Bears defense than the former first-round pick who was signed to a massive deal in free agency.

Tremaine Edmunds is day-to-day, but it is hard to see him playing this week against the Carolina Panthers. He will hardly practice in a short week, and that is not the time to test it. However, if he practices one day this week and then gets a ten-day rest before next Sunday, we could see Edmunds back. Sanborn has to play his best this Thursday. If you have been watching him, he has been.

Even if he goes back to his role as the SAM, he has been effective in there, and he has helped the run defense make the turnaround that it has this year. If Edmunds is out any longer than just Thursday, we may get to see him in a bigger role, and he may be able to excel even more. Sanborn has continued to impress, so why not assume that this will continue in the second half of the year?