Jaquan Brisker will miss yet another Chicago-Green Bay game after talking big talk throughout his career
The Chicago Bears announced on Thursday that safety Jaquan Brisker will go on the injured reserve, meaning that he’ll at least miss Sunday’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers — if not the rematch between the teams in Week 18 to end the regular season. Brisker, who has started all 35 games that he’s been available for the Bears over his three-year NFL career, has been out with a concussion since early October. At minimum, the safety will now be out at least four more games, per the league’s injured reserve rules.
Without Brisker, the Bears are expected to start Elijah Hicks opposite of Kevin Byard, which has been what they’ve done since Brisker went down. For perspective, Brisker has posted a 51.0 passer rating when targeted this season as a deep safety, according to NFL Pro, while Hicks’ passer rating when targeted is 128.0. Hicks, like Brisker, was drafted three years ago and has made 12 starts in the NFL.
Brisker hasn’t exactly warmed himself up to Packers fans over the years, so the Green and Gold faithful often lock into his performance against the team. In September of 2023, Brisker said, “I hate Green Bay,” and, “People hate Green Bay,” heading into the Week 1 opener. After the second matchup between the teams last year, Brisker said that the receiver unit had “no stars” and that they were “fake tough.”
Mind you, Brisker was brought in on a visit to Green Bay as a draft prospect, which generally correlates to the Packers having a serious interest in taking the player. Back in 2022, the team took Tariq Carpenter, Samori Toure, Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Rasheed Walker and Romeo Doubs from those limited 30 visits alone. The team later picked up Benjie Franklin, Jean Delance and John FitzPatrick as free agents or practice squad poaches, too.
If things shook out just a little differently, Brisker could have been a Packer. Instead, his Bears are on a 10-game losing streak to Green Bay, and he’s unable to contribute to a Chicago win against their main rival until at least the final week of he regular season.