Bears safety Jaquan Brisker was cleared long ago to return to football this year after his season-ending third concussion three years.
Yet, for some reason he has taken it upon himself to make a strange statement now for fans.
Posting on X, Brisker apparently is trying to take some of the blame for what happened last year to the team, even if it's all been water under the bridge, washed away by the high tide Ben Johnson brought to Halas Hall..
"I promise to come back better than ever! Your unwavering support means everything to me in these challenging times. From the heart, I appreciate each and every one of my fans, your prayers, and your messages. We didn't finish strong , and I say it’s all my fault... I wish I could have fought alongside my team to WIN—that’s my true passion and purpose. I will rise from this and come back and take what’s mine! Year 4 will be special; it will be a testament to our strength and resilience. Until I return, remember: there are No Comparisons. 🏹🏹"
I promise to come back better than ever! Your unwavering support means everything to me in these challenging times. From the heart, I appreciate each and every one of my fans, your prayers, and your messages. We didn't finish strong , and I say it’s all my fault... I wish I could… pic.twitter.com/G8u3KvsxiB
— Quanny B. (@JaquanBrisker) March 27, 2025
He also put out another one after that.
Perhaps Brisker is feeling guilt because away from the field and shielded from some of the fallout in the collapse, or maybe it's just the possibility they might draft another safety, but all of this seemed a bit like unnecessary theatrics.
I WASN’T GON PUT THIS OUT BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THE STREETS NEED THIS.
NOT BEING OUTSIDE WITH Y’ALL WHEN I DROP IS HARD, BUT I KNOW I WILL FEEL Y’ALL LOVE AND ENERGY THROUGH THESE WALLS
THANK Y’ALL FOR ROCKING WITH ME THROUGH EVERYTHING. I TELL THESE STORIES SO OUR VOICE IS… pic.twitter.com/wANrqIR0xe
— THE VOICE (@lildurk) March 28, 2025
It would be convenient for everyone if they could find an ounce of truth about Brisker's statement "...it's all my fault." Then everyone could simply blame him and the entire offseason of rebuilding the team in another direction wouldn't have been necessary, but there were issues that had little or nothing to do with him.
They didn't even lose the week after he suffered his season-ending injury. They beat Jacksonville to go 4-2 on the year that game after Brisker was hurt, then the collapse began.
Great job by Jaquan Brisker (9) playing the mid-point of the Rams' Bench concept.
No need to take the Arrow (bait) to the flat, but hang high & force the QB to throw it over you.
Stafford tries to fit the ball into the Sail route, but Brisker is able to high-point the ball.
-- pic.twitter.com/4vFJSv4x7w
— Cody Alexander (@The_Coach_A) March 15, 2025
The rotting fabric of what they built under the Matt Eberflus regime came to light in the weeks since his firing so Brisker saying this is entirely unnecessary.
However, they did get hurt by his absence on defense. It was more of a two-man absence combined that made the difference.
Jaquan Brisker is one of my favorites, but the concussion situation is becoming a chronic issue. Should the Bears invest a high draft pick in the safety position this year with Kevin Byard's age and Brisker's availability question marks?
— Francis Grunder (@fgrunder3) March 17, 2025
When both Brisker and Andrew Billings went out, it removed a key run stopper and a secondary player who provided strong run support. The run defense caved in and later then, as a result, the pass coverage started to struggle.
They went from 10th against the run after their win in London to 20th after their loss to the Cardinals two games later, and in the Cardinals game lost Billings for the year. Without both Billings and Brisker, the defense collapsed to 28th against the run, 16th against the pass and 27th overall. This was after a preseason of boasts about how they'd be top-five and take the ball away 20 times by fumbles and 20 by interceptions.
One of the most impactful plays for the Bears beating San Fran was this tackle by @JaquanBrisker This play led to a sack by Robinson on the next play which led to San Fran kicking a FG. Helluva tackle by the rookie. If he doesn’t make this play they likely score a TD. pic.twitter.com/nKEm7BmjLb
— Gregory Bell II (@BobbyBooshay713) September 13, 2022
The thing about those key player losses is the Bears needed to simply overcome them. Detroit lost a lot more players on defense last year than the Bears did and kept fighting right into the divisional playoffs.
If playing at 100%, Brisker would be a huge boost for their cause and is the type of dynamic, impactful player Dennis Allen has used well in his schemes in the past at New Orleans.
Watching the A22 of the Bears game and this caught my eye.
Jaquan Brisker was hyped after Cole Kmet’s 3rd down reception for a 1st down. He did Kmet’s TD celly! pic.twitter.com/nBWRtUtIph
— Nick Whalen (@_NickWhalen) September 24, 2024
Nevertheless, the Bears will be on the lookout for safety help in the draft and it helps to explain why they had reportedly had a pro day style visit with Texas safety Andrew Mukuba.
With no safeties under contract for 2026, they'll almost certainly bring in someone.
Jaquan Brisker intercepts it off the dropped pass 👀
📺: #CHIvsMIN on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/J5tLNJHyh1 pic.twitter.com/g14EO5AnEA
— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2023
X: BearsOnSI