Chicago Bears star safety Jaquan Brisker hasn’t shared a field much with fellow playmakers Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon much this year. But the wait to get them back on the field together might soon be over.
Brisker retweeted a post on X Tuesday suggesting that the full trio might indeed by back for real on Friday after Johnson and Gordon both opened up their practice windows to return from injured reserve. The latter two players were listed as “full” participants in Tuedsay’s walkthrough practice, though we’ll have a better idea of their true availability for Friday’s game later today.
*Sips Tea 🐸 ☕️ https://t.co/c2bbZcKQrh
— Quanny B. (@JaquanBrisker) November 25, 2025
Their returns couldn’t come at a better time as the Bears prepare to face the Philadelphia Eagles’ dynamic duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith as well as a tough slate of teams to finish the season. And that’s not just because the Bears need defensive reinforcements in the worst way with all three of their starting linebackers projected to miss the game on Friday.
The tweet Brisker boosted contained some eye-popping stats about how good the Bears defense is when the Brisker-Johnson-Gordon trio is on the field together.
“Since Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker were drafted to pair with Jaylon Johnson in 2022, they’ve played just 31 of 62 possible games together,” the original author wrote. “In 2023 (15 games together), the Bears were top 10 in the NFL allowing just 195.1 passing yards per game.”
That’ll play.
Suffice it to say the Bears defense hasn’t performed nearly that well in 2025, though they do still lead the NFL in interceptions with 16 coming into this week. A lot of that might have to do with Johnson and Gordon missing so much of the season to date and the Bears having to rely on Tyrique Stevenson and Nahsohn Wright to play outsized roles on defense, not to mention missing out on Gordon’s do-it-all skills from the slot.
But if Johnson and Gordon come back this week and manage to stay on the field for the rest of the season, the Bears’ defense suddenly looks a lot scarier, especially when you account for Montez Sweat’s recent sack binge up front. Plus, having Gordon back and being able to pair him with CJ Gardner-Johnson in dime packages to make up for the linebacker injuries Chicago has suffered could be just the short-term workaround the Bears need until their backers get healthy.
When their star trio is on the field, the Bears instantly become one of the toughest defenses in the league to throw on.
If Brisker’s hints come true, this playoff run could get extremely fun for Bears fans.
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