Shemar

Turner

Turner ends his rookie year with six tackles, two TFLs, and a 34.4 PFF defensive grade. He was essentially being treated as a rotational player, maxing out at 23 snaps in Week 3. Depending on rehab, Turner may be ready for training camp in 2026.

This looked like a minor injury when it first occurred. Turner went down in the first quarter, and was slow to get up before hobbling off the field under his own power. The rookie tackle, however, was later carted from the field and has now been ruled out for the game. The Bears drafted Turner in the second round of this year’s draft. He entered the day with six tackles and two TFLs in four games.

The Bears have now signed two of their three second-round picks, having kicked things off by signing DT Shemar Turner earlier today. Luther Burden remains the team’s only unsigned second-round pick. Trapilo will compete with incumbent OT Braxton Jones for the starting left tackle job. Jones has been recovering from ankle surgery and is expected to participate in the Bears’ training camp.

The second-round rookies have largely been holding out as a group this year in search of fully guaranteed contracts. It’s unclear if Turner’s deal is fully guaranteed, but his signing, along with a few other contracts getting ironed out, should pave the way for more dominoes to fall. Chicago drafted Turner to be a versatile interior defender for their ascending defense. Turner totaled 10 sacks and three forced fumbles in four seasons at Texas A&M.

Turner (6’3/290) served as a versatile chess piece who played all over the line, focusing mostly on edge for the first three years before moving to three tech in 2024. He was a major factor on the outside in 2023 creating 36 pressures, 6.0 sacks, a 15% pressure rate and an 80th percentile pass rush grade, earning Second Team All-SEC recognition. Turner suffered a stress fracture after bulking up for the move to defensive tackle, but played through it well enough to be graded positively on 24% of his run game snaps with 19 stops. His biggest issue was his tendency to abandon gap responsibilities and over run plays, leading to a sky-high 23.3% missed tackle rate and 31st percentile tackle grade. Somewhat undersized for an NFL three tech, Turner is at his best when parrying blockers’ hands to free himself up and pursue the play. A relentless competitor who prefers to slash his way into the backfield as opposed to bulldoze his way to it, Turner lacks the base necessary to defeat double teams.

HC Jimbo Fisher keeps his house in order, staving off challenges from Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and a host of other prominent schools to land the DeSoto, TX native Turner (6'3/282). The five-star prospect is rated as the fourth best strong side defensive end and fifth overall recruit in Texas from the 2021 cycle. His impressive size means he could stay on the outside as a pass-rusher who can set the edge or move inside and beef up to the 300-pound range where his athleticism and sure-tackling ability would make him a nuisance. He faced elite competition in high school on a weekly basis and has the potential to become an all-conference caliber defensive lineman with early-round NFL potential down the road.