Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker wants the football in his hands. That’s why he’s always carrying one

LAKE FOREST – When there’s a football in his hands, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker feels the texture of the leather against his skin. He feels the stiff laces. He can tell the difference between a game ball and a practice ball. The game balls are perfect. Not too roughed up.

When there’s a football in his hands, “it feels good,” Brisker said. It feels right.

When he’s on the road, the Bears’ second-year safety always has a football in his hands. When the Bears board their plane to Cleveland on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s game at Cleveland Browns Stadium, there will undoubtedly be a football in Brisker’s hands.

He’s always got one in his hands on the team bus or on the plane. If the Bears are at home, he’s got three or four footballs in his car at all times.

“It kind of reminds me of being a kid again, just having the ball around and not getting yelled at this time,” Brisker said.

Brisker grew up with four brothers and three sisters. The Brisker boys certainly caused their fair share of trouble for playing ball in the house. Jaquan remembered one time in particular when he and his brothers put a hole in the wall.

“A lot of trouble,” Brisker said of that day, shaking his head in front of his locker at Halas Hall.

It might seem like a gimmicky thing for a 24-year-old pro athlete to do, carry a football around. For Brisker, it’s not just about feeling like a kid again. He wants to prioritize the football when he’s on the field, so he’s prioritizing it off the field, too.

“It’s all about the ball,” Brisker said. “Just carrying around the ball, trying to get the feel for it. Just hopefully it comes to me the next day.”

The ball seems to be finding Brisker a lot lately. He forced a fumble Sunday against the Detroit Lions, knocked down two passes and totaled a career-high 17 tackles. In his previous outing, Brisker grabbed his first interception of the season against Minnesota.

His 17 tackles on Sunday marked the most by a Bears defensive back since at least 1960, according to the team.

“His instincts and his passion really showed up,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said this week at Halas Hall. “That’s who he is. He’s an aggressive guy. He does a really good job tackling. His instincts are elite. He does a really good job with that.”

Eberflus once had 21 tackles in college at Toledo. He joked that Brisker has “some work to do” to match his coach.

Brisker was all over the field in that game. For a safety, he plays a physical brand of football. This is a player who led the Bears with four sacks in 2022. He’s not afraid to play near the line of scrimmage and he’s more than a willing tackler.

“He comes in and he’s always texting me when I’m putting in the game plan, ‘Put a couple pressures in for me,’” Eberflus said. “He’s always constantly on me about that. ‘Make sure I’m part of the game plan.’ But he’s a ball of energy.”

He’s always constantly on me about that. ‘Make sure I’m part of the game plan.’ But he’s a ball of energy.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Football is a unique sport. More than half the players never touch the football. If a defender has the ball in his hands even once, it’s considered a game-changing play. Many NFL defensive backs played on offense growing up. Somewhere along the way, a coach suggested they focus on the defensive side of the game.

That was an adjustment for Brisker, for sure, but Brisker loves playing defense. He’s good at it, too.

“If you’re around him outside of football, he’s kind of a low-key, mellow guy,” Bears safeties coach Andre Curtis said. “But out there, he’s got juice. He loves playing the game, he’s got passion for it. He’s a striker, he likes being in the mix.”

Brisker began carrying around a football late last season. Nobody told him to do it. He just started doing it.

“It’s just a psychological thing,” veteran safety Eddie Jackson said. “He’s got to get the ball. I feel like it is just getting used to having the ball. You know how people say you’ve got to sleep with the ball, live with the ball, eat with the ball. That type of mindset.”

The Bears defense has caused 11 turnovers in the past three games. Brisker has been around the football more than anyone. When he intercepted Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs a few weeks ago in Minnesota, he ran to the end zone and emulated the Vikings’ “Skol” chant toward the purple-clad fans. He clapped high over his head, with the football grasped in his gloves.

That football was right where it belonged.

“[I’m] just trying to feel it every single time,” Brisker said. “To me, in my head, the ball’s going to come around me at some point.”