Bear Digest

Bears count on bonus from Austin Booker's availability as edge rusher

A side benefit to getting Austin Booker back from a knee injury is what it could do for their pass rush overall as the Bears face Joe Flacco and the Bengals.
Gene Chamberlain|
Austin Booker celebrates after a defensive play early last season. He'll debut for the 2025 season Sunday.
Austin Booker celebrates after a defensive play early last season. He'll debut for the 2025 season Sunday. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The debut of Bears defensive end Austin Booker can mean a double dose of improved pass rush.

They can use it, particularly this week.

Booker's addition as an edge rush threat after he was activated off injured reserve can help the defense come around the corner better but also nab passers on second effort. Speed and tenacity were Booker's game in preseason, when he led the NFL in sacks and played only two of the three games.

"I really think, the last couple weeks, he has been outstanding in practice," defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.

It was only practice because the Bears didn't activate him until the very end of his 21-day window to return. He has been ready for a few weeks.

"He’ll get an opportunity, I think, to get out there this week," Allen said. "We’ll see exactly what he can do, but I’m excited about watching him play, for sure."

It can mean a change in pass rush effectiveness for Dayo Odeyingbo. Through the first eight weeks, Odeyingbo has been a disappointment in this regard with one sack after the Bears paid $48 million over three years for him in free agency. Montez Sweat is the only edge rusher with more than 1 1/2 sacks and has three. Dominique Robinson is the only other with more than one, at 1 1/2, but he suffered a high ankle sprain last week and is expected to be out several weeks as a result.

“I think Sweat has started to ascend over the last few  games," coach Ben Johnson said. "I'm pretty pleased with how he's playing.

"Dayo has been really good as an interior rusher, and I thought he played a really strong game last week in the run game. It was his best game yet this season, but on the edge, we're still working on that."

It would seem this is a bit overdue if Booker has looked good for a few weeks now, but they did need to take care with his knee situation and also they played several run-heavy teams in Washington, New Orleans and Baltimore. His rush wouldn't have been needed as much then.

The availability of Booker can let them move Odeyingbo inside more on passing downs. He has been deployed between tackle and center only 61 times and on the edge 271 downs.

"This offseason, when we evaluated Dayo, I thought that was one of the best things he that he did was the inside rush," Allen said. "We haven’t been able to use him a whole lot in there.

"I think we’ll see how the games play out, but that (getting Austin back) could let us  be able to use him more inside."

The Bears need the pressure on Bengals QB Joe Flacco from somewhere this week with their secondary depleted by injuries. They'll be down two or three cornerbacks again and the pressure has been entirely on Sweat. 

If it comes inside or outside from Odeyingbo, or outside from Booker no one will care.

Something else could help them get after the quarterback. They could play with a lead for a change.

"Look, I think the biggest thing holding any of us back, in terms of edge rushing, is  that we’ve got to get some of these games where we can get the score in a position where they’re having to throw every down," Allen said. "It’s much harder to rush the passer when you’re in run, play-action downs versus when they’re in dropback (and throw) mode.

"Our ability to affect the passer or affect the passing game, I think, has been demonstrated some in terms of third down. That’s really kind of a passing situation. There are things we can do in terms of, can we bring an extra rusher? Can we drop the ends? There are different things we can do. When we’ve gotten into situations where it’s an obvious passing down, I do think there are some things we’ve done to affect the passer."

It's time to do more of them.

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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.