The Chicago Bears defense underachieved last year. Part of it was the disintegration of the locker room as Matt Eberflus lost the respect of players. His unwillingness to take accountability for his mistakes seemed fan the flames until guys started tuning him out. However, there was a simpler explanation: injuries were mounting. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings was lost to a torn pectoral, crippling their run defense. Jaquan Brisker was lost for the year to a severe concussion. Yet not enough people talk about Montez Sweat.
Throughout the season, there was an undercurrent of people indicating that the star pass rusher didn’t look right. He wasn’t playing with the explosiveness that characterized his stellar 2023 season. Some wondered if the coaching situation had affected him more than most. Or maybe he took his foot off the gas after getting his big contract. None of that was true. Sweat was hurt. Though he played most of the season, it’s been revealed he was never 100% healthy. Adam Jahns of CHGO shared details of how serious it was.
Sweat was definitely hindered last season. He played in 16 games, but he dealt with toe, shin, ankle and elbow injuries during the season. If Sweat wanted an excuse, he obviously has several of them.
“I don’t really dwell on it too much,” Sweat said in May. “Football is a game where it’s not if you’re going to get hurt, but when. So you’ve got to deal with those things and just move forward. I’m sure that won’t be my last injury.”
That said, expectations will always remain high for him after he received his massive contract extension. Allen needs to be discussed here, too. Look for Allen to find more one-on-one matchups for Sweat through his scheme.
Montez Sweat deserves credit for gutting it out.
He easily could’ve shut himself down and recovered by missing a few games. Instead, he battled through the pain to help his team, even if what he gave wasn’t at his customary level. Montez Sweat is a great teammate for that. The good news is he should be fully healed. He’s had months to get his body right. There haven’t been any reports of offseason surgeries. Montez Sweat should hit training camp back at the level he was two years ago. The Bears will certainly need him. Questions remain about their pass rush. They struggled getting to the quarterback when Sweat couldn’t force offenses to double-team him. How he rebounds this year (if at all) will decide both their season and next offseason.
