Bear Digest

Bears bring aboard connected help after losing players to IR

A series of moves, including putting T.J. Edwards and Ozzy Trapilo on injured reserve, brought about a need for more bodies as backups or for special teams.
Gene Chamberlain|
Nephi Sewell played in three seasons under Dennis Allen with the Saints and has signed with the Bears practice squad.
Nephi Sewell played in three seasons under Dennis Allen with the Saints and has signed with the Bears practice squad. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Bears linebacker Noah Sewell must spend the rest of his season on injured reserve after tearing is Achilles against the 49ers in Week 17.

At least he'll have family around Halas Hall while he rehabs.

The Bears signed his brother, linebacker Nephi Sewell, to the practice squad Tuesday after a series of expected roster moves resulting from injuries during the playoff win over Green Bay.

Nephi Sewell played for Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans from  2022-24 and then was with the Saints but they released him Monday.

Sewell was largely a special teams player and a practice squad player. He made one start in 2024 and played in 30 total games. He had a sack, 26 tackles and four tackles for loss.

The events leading to the move were the Bears officially placing linebacker T.J. Edwards and tackle Ozzy Trapilo on injured reserve. Edwards suffered a fractured fibula and Trapilo a patellar tendon injury against the Packers.

With those moves, they moved tackle Braxton Jones off injured reserve and promoted linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin to the 53-man roster. Jones had been on IR since Oct. 25 as a result of a knee injury.

The injury to Edwards could force them to bring Sewell up on Sunday from the practice squad. Reeves-Maybin will no doubt play a special teams role and could be in at strongside linebacker. He has been in four games for them with four tackles, and he even got in on defense for eight plays instead of playing only special teams against the Packers.

D'Marco Jackson will be the starting weakside linbacker in Edwards' place.

The Sewells, of course, are the brothers of Lions All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell.

The real question for this week is whether they should start Theo Benedet in Trapilo's spot or turn back to Jones, who had lost the starting position to Benedet after the Week 4 game against the Raiders.

It's not easy to pick it right back up when a player has been out for an extended time in a season. The Bears already have seen this with cornerback Jaylon Johnson in particular. But Jones had been a starting NFL left tackle for almost three seasons with high blocking grades from Pro Football Focus until suffering an ankle injury that require surgery in Week 16 last season.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.