Eddie Jackson will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on Wednesday that it’s still unclear whether or not Jackson will need surgery to repair his foot, but the nature of the injury is bad enough that he won’t return until 2023. The team placed Jackson on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Jackson hurt himself while backpedaling in pass coverage last Sunday. It was one of many injuries the Bears sustained in the Jets game. In addition to Jackson, the Bears lost Darnell Mooney for the rest of the year due to an ankle injury. Right tackles Riley Reiff and Larry Borom, wide receivers Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown, and safety Dane Cruikshank all got hurt over the course of the game too.
This has been a renaissance season for Jackson. He embraced Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principles and emerged as a more vocal leader on the team. On the field, Jackson created takeaways like he did earlier in his career and was a markedly improved tackler. Jackson’s four interceptions rank tied for third in the NFL. With Roquan Smith in Baltimore, Jackson’s 80 tackles lead the Bears defense. Jackson was on Pace to break his career high of 82 tackles before the injury.
The Bears are thin at safety heading into the Packers game. Jackson and Cruikshank are both on IR and Jaquan Brisker remains in the concussion protocol, leaving DeAndre Houston-Carson and rookies Elijah Hicks and A.J. Thomas as the few options left at the position.