Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker aiming for even bigger things in year 2

LAKE FOREST – Bears safety Jaquan Brisker hesitated when asked what he was happy about from last season.

“I wouldn’t say really too much, to be honest,” Brisker said. “I really wasn’t happy.”

The Bears went 3-14, which certainly left everyone unsatisfied. But Brisker, a rookie second-round draft pick last season, was one of the few bright spots. He was a difference-maker from the start, recovering a fumble and recording a tackle for loss in his first NFL game.

Brisker played in 15 games and finished the season with 104 combined tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a team-leading four sacks.

Still, last season left a bad taste in his mouth.

“I feel like I didn’t have the year I should have had,” Brisker said. “[I’ve] got to finish off the year strong. I’ve got to finish out the year healthy. I don’t want to miss any games – even in the preseason, I don’t want to miss too much time.”

“I feel like I didn’t have the year I should have had. Got to finish off the year strong. I’ve got to finish out the year healthy.

—  Jaquan Brisker, Bears safety

Brisker had a great training camp last year until a thumb injury knocked him out for several weeks. He made it back just in time for the season opener. Later in the season, a concussion sidelined him for two weeks.

He felt like the thumb injury, especially, set him back. From there, he felt like he was playing catch-up.

“I feel like when I came back I was trying to move too fast instead of being under control, being myself, making plays and not giving up certain things or not being consistent,” Brisker said.

Brisker was one of general manager Ryan Poles’ first draft picks. The Bears, who didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022, selected cornerback Kyler Gordon with the 39th pick, then took Brisker at 48th overall.

Brisker proved to be exactly what head coach Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defensive scheme needed, and exactly what the Bears’ defense had been missing the previous few seasons. He was versatile enough to play back in coverage and up near the line of scrimmage. His four sacks proves as much. That versatility allowed veteran safety Eddie Jackson to play center field, which is what Jackson does best, and resulted in a resurgent season for Jackson.

Jackson was one of the few remaining veterans who Poles and Eberflus didn’t trade or cut. They asked him to be a leader for the team, and he set the tone from the start. Jackson was an important mentor for Brisker. Jackson hosted Brisker at his home for extra film sessions last summer.

“Last year Eddie had an outstanding training camp,” Eberflus said. “The leadership by example. We always say that’s the first thing you have to do. Our best players have to be the hardest workers. And he didn’t miss a day. And he was humming during training camp. Got himself into great physical shape, the best you can get into.”

That duo will be back again. Jackson returned to the practice field this week for the first time since injuring his foot in late November. The Bears will need them both if the defense is going to be at its best.

Bears safeties coach Andre Curtis believes Brisker will make a second-year jump.

“He’s already different,” Curtis said. “Not all those [players] stay the same. Just his level of focus and concentration and the volume of stuff he’s learned and getting better at, he’s just starting to take off. If he keeps going, he’s going to have a good season.”

With the additions of linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, there will be even less pressure on the safeties.

Edmunds is an elite coverage linebacker in the middle, with crazy length. He should help bottle things up in the middle. Brisker said having that safety net ahead of them “makes it easier for [the safeties] to get our eyes back on the quarterback.”