Danny Trevathan’s season, and maybe career, with the Bears is done. The team announced on Friday that they placed Trevathan back on IR with a knee injury.
According to a league memo about IR rule changes sent back in August, if a player is placed on IR once, activated off of IR, then placed on IR again, they are ineligible to return to the Active List again.
Trevathan was placed on IR at the start of this season, and was activated ahead of the Bears’ Week 5 game against the Raiders. He’s played in five games this season, in a rotation with Alec Ogletree for the second ILB spot beside Roquan Smith. However, he only drew one start, in Week 9 against the Steelers. That game, he also played a season-high 28 snaps, which accounted for 39% of the team’s total defensive snaps.
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Trevathan was one of the key first signings Ryan Pace made in 2016 when he began rebuilding the defense. He was brought in to act as the “quarterback” for the defense alongside Jerrell Freeman at inside linebacker. But his six-year career in Chicago has been marred by injuries. Trevathan only played a full season twice in his time here, in 2018 and 2020. Those are also the only two seasons that he crossed the 100-tackle threshold.
Since 2016, Trevathan has racked up 459 tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He’s also been a noted vocal leader in the locker room.
According to Spotrac, the Bears can save $3.5 million towards next year’s cap if they designate Trevathan as a post-June 1 cut over the offseason.
