CHICAGO — Every day last season, after Jaquan Brisker was sidelined with a concussion, the Chicago Bears safety told his mother, Mijohni, he was OK.
Something clearly was amiss, however, as weeks of missed games turned into months and Brisker ultimately never returned to the field, missing the final 12 games after a vicious shot in an Oct. 6 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Late in the second quarter, he came down to tackle tight end Tommy Tremble after a short reception. With a running start, Tremble lowered his head and delivered a nasty blow to Brisker’s neck.
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Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker celebrates after making an interception during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams last season at Soldier Field in Chicago. Tess Crowley, Chicago Tribune/TNS
Brisker finished the game — doctors didn’t detect anything wrong in the moment — and he wasn’t diagnosed with a concussion until shortly before the Bears departed for London the following week. Tremble, for what it’s worth, was fined $17,083 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness.
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It seems like ages ago. The Bears were 3-2 — headed to 4-2 with the overseas victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars — and the meltdown that defined the season had yet to heat up. The ensuing 10-game losing streak was even more difficult for Brisker to observe from a distance.
“My mom asked me every single day: ‘Are you OK? Are you ready?’ ” Brisker said. “I told her I’m about to be playing this week. I really thought I was fine, to be honest. I mean, it was just a hard process, a hard thing.
“Obviously I wanted to be out there playing football, but I just couldn’t. I physically couldn’t. But every day I told my mother, I will be playing this game. I just, every time I came here, I just couldn’t get past certain process.”
Brisker finally was cleared early in the offseason and said he had to “retrain” his nervous system after visiting a specialist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He said the doctor described it as a vestibular concussion, the kind that can affect balance, visual motion sensitivity and other factors.
That led to movement-related drills and exercises such as catching a tennis ball so his eyes would be forced to track the object while he was moving. He had to get his reactions sparking like he was accustomed to in the past.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday at Halas Hall for the first time in eight months — since before the injury — Brisker emphasized multiple times he feels good and has moved on. He patiently answered questions, including significant ones such as whether he pondered retirement at any point, given that he has missed 16 of a possible 51 career NFL games because of three concussions.
It’s fair to wonder. The risks associated with the sport lie somewhere in the back of every football player’s mind. Brisker has been friends with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin since they were middle schoolers in Pittsburgh. Brisker was nearing the end of his rookie season in 2022 when Hamlin suffered commotio cordis, leading to cardiac arrest, as the result of blunt force trauma to the chest. It’s an extremely rare situation that threatened much more than Hamlin’s career.
So did Brisker contemplate he might be at the end?
“Nah,” he said. “Nope. Not with no one, especially not myself. Not with my parents. I feel like if my parents say something, it’s deep. So if it didn’t come from them or come from me, I didn’t hear it, to be honest.”
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Safety Jaquan Brisker answers questions, mostly about his concussion and recovery, after Chicago Bears minicamp at Halas Hall on June 4 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune/TNS
Is he concerned about his long-term health?
“I’m good,” he said. “I’m past that point. I’m really moved on. I am just focused on playing ball. I’m really clear of mind, you know. I’m really good.”
He called it depressing to be sidelined as the season wore on but thanked teammates for their support. Veterans can tell you injured reserve is a lonely place to ride out a season when the daily and weekly routines are absent.
“I mean, I’m a Brisker,” he said. “We’re strong. Got people behind me, things like that. And I dealt with so much more things worse than that (Brisker’s older brother Tale’ was shot and killed in Texas in 2015). So this is another bump in the road, to be honest.”
The Bears are happy Brisker is healthy, and he has been characteristically loud on the back end of the defense during the offseason program. It’s a contract year for him while playing for a new coaching staff, so the stakes are raised.
He was playing well early last season. The week before the Panthers game, Brisker had 12 tackles, two stops for a loss, an interception and a quarterback hit in a victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Bears coach Ben Johnson probably has a pretty good idea in his memory bank of what Brisker can do at his peak. The safety had one of the best games of his career in a 28-13 victory over the Detroit Lions, Johnson’s former team, on Dec. 10, 2023, at Soldier Field.
Brisker briefly left that game after having the wind knocked out of him while tackling wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the second quarter, but he quickly returned and made plays all over the field. He was credited with 17 tackles (13 solos), two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
It was the most tackles by a Bears defensive back since at least 1960 and the most by any NFL defensive back in a non-overtime game since Tennessee Titans safety Michael Griffin had 18 in a 38-10 road loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 16, 2012.
“(Brisker) was a guy that you had to earmark and make sure you knew where he was when you game-planned against him because he was very active, particularly in the run game,” Johnson said. “He liked to come down and fill in the box and played like a linebacker that happened to be a defensive back.
“We always told the receivers that they had to make sure they accounted for him. Can’t see that right now without the pads, but you can certainly see an active player that’s excited, he’s passionate about the game and he loves playing football.
“He likes to talk a little bit, too, which I appreciate.”
Brisker is probably as eager as the rookies to get to training camp and put on pads, to take a step closer to the regular season. His goal is simple: stay healthy.
“I don’t have to prove anything,” he said. “When I’m out there, I make plays. I go attack the ball and I come down and hit. I come down and tackle, and I’m a leader. So really just have to be out there.”
Brisker said last week on social media that he has been keeping receipts — and those come from all over.
“Doubting the team. Doubting me. Whatever it may be, I’m keeping all the receipts,” he said Wednesday. “Everybody who thought it was funny or everybody who talked about us, we are ready for this year.
“I’m ready for this year. I’m back. Nine is back. I’m going to do what I do. People are going to say what they want, critics are going to say whatever, but I’m here.”
And that’s what he promised his mother — that he would be back playing.
31 historical photos of the Chicago Bears
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Bill Wade played in 59 games for the Bears from 1961 to 1966. Ray Gora
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Ed Brown played in 98 games for the Bears from 1954 to 1961. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Zeke Bratkowski played in 59 games for the Bears from 1954 to 1960. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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George Blanda, center, played in 115 games for the Bears as a kicker-quarterback from 1949 to 1958. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Wille Thrower played in one game during the Bears' 1953 season. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Steve Romanik, shown here in 1951, right, played in 24 games for Bears from 1950 to 1953. Ray Gora
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Johnny Lujack played in 45 games for Bears as a kicker-quarterback from 1948 to 1951. Chicago Tribune historical photo
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Nick Sacrinty, left, played in 11 games during the Bears' 1947 season. Chicago Tribune
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Henry Burris played in six games during the Bears' 2002 season. JOHN SMIERCIAK
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Jim Miller played in 32 games for the Bears from 1999 to 2002. JOSé M. OSORIO
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Shane Matthews played in 20 games for the Bears from 1996 to 2001. JAMES PRISCHING
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Mark Hartsell played in one game during the Bears' 2000 season. John Smierciak
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Cade McNown played in 25 games for the Bears from 1999 to 2000. NUCCIO DINUZZO
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Moses Moreno played in two games during the Bears' 1998 season. JAMES PRISCHING
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Steve Stenstrom played in 11 games for the Bears from 1996 to 1998. TODD PANAGOPOULOS
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Erik Kramer played in 49 games for the Bears from 1994 to 1998. JOHN SMIERCIAK
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Steve Walsh played in 13 games for the Bears from 1994 to 1995. Chicago Tribune
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Rick Mirer played in seven games during the Bears' 1997 season. NUCCIO DINUZZO
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Jim Harbaugh played in 89 games for the Bears from 1987 to 1993. Nancy Stone
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Peter Tom Willis played in 21 games for the Bears from 1990 to 1993. Jim Prisching
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Will Furrer played in two games during the Bears' 1992 season. James Prisching
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Mike Tomczak played in 77 games for the Bears from 1985 to 1990. Chicago Tribune
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Mike Hohensee played in two games during the Bears' 1987 season. BILL HOGAN
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Steve Fuller played in 38 games for the Bears from 1984 to 1986. ED WAGNER JR
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Rusty Lisch played in seven games during the Bears' 1984 season. Chicago Tribune
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Bob Avellini played in 73 games for the Bears from 1975 to 1984. Chicago Tribune
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Vince Evans played in 56 games for the Bears from 1977 to 1983. Phil Mascione
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Mike Phipps played in 31 games for the Bears from 1977 to 1981. Ed Wagner Jr
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Gary Huff played in 43 games for the Bears from 1973 to 1976. Ed Wagner Jr
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Joe Barnes played in three games during the Bears' 1974 season. Ray Gora
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Jack Concannon played in 51 games for the Bears from 1967 to 1971. Ed Wagner Jr
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