The following is the seventh of nine position reviews from the Bears' 2025 season.
The Bears defense relied on a rotation of linebackers due to injuries this season, but the group remained productive, particularly when it came to helping generate a league-leading 33 takeaways.
Returning veterans Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards were both sidelined for several games while battling various injuries, but they still made a significant impact on the field when healthy, as well as off the field, serving as leaders in the locker room.
Edmunds, who missed four regular-season games, led the group with four interceptions, which ranked third on a Bears defense that led the league with 23.
Before his injury, Edmunds moved from the middle linebacker position to weakside linebacker following a training camp where coordinator Dennis Allen had the linebackers training at multiple spots. Coach Ben Johnson thought Edmunds played some of his best football after the switch.
"I think he's really come on over the last few weeks since we moved him from Mike to Will," Johnson said in November. "I don't know if it's a comfort level or just, 'Hey, this is what you've got to do.' I think it's really come on. Talking with some of the previous coaches we've gone against, opponents that we've gone against, they talk about how long he is and what a big concern he is in their passing game, because it's hard to fit the ball over him or around him.
"He just finds a way to tip the ball. When he plays decisive and physical in the run game, it makes him a really dangerous linebacker because of the concerns that our opponents have for him in the passing game."
Edwards, who led the Bears in tackles in 2023 and ranked second in 2024, missed seven games this season. He started all 10 games he played in and recorded 67 tackles, an interception and three quarterback hits. He returned for the wild card win over Green Bay but suffered a season-ending fibula injury against the Packers. He is expected to be back at some point before the 2026 season.
"I've got a ton of respect for T.J," Edmunds said. "He's been fighting all year. It's just been one of those types of years where God's got a bigger plan for him. Obviously, what happened to him early in the season, him battling to come back, and this happened to him.
"I know there's nobody else on the team, nobody else in the world who wants to be out there with his guys more than him … I know how much work he puts into it. But I do know a guy like that, he's going to bounce back from it. He handles adversity the best that I've seen."
Injuries forced third-year linebacker D'Marco Jackson into four regular-season starts and one playoff start, marking five of 18 total appearances. Each time Jackson was called upon, however, he delivered, totaling 43 tackles, an interception, three passes defensed and a sack.
Jackson signed with the Bears Aug. 27 after being released by the Saints at the end of training camp. While Jackson primarily played on special teams at the start of the year, his familiarity with Allen — he was drafted by the Saints in 2022 when Allen was the head coach — allowed for a smooth transition to the defensive lineup.
In his first start Nov. 23 against the Steelers, Jackson led the team with 15 tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. Three weeks later against the Browns, he recorded his first NFL sack and interception, which earned Jackson NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
"I think the biggest thing for him is he has gotten an opportunity," Allen said of Jackson. "My last year there in New Orleans, we kind of felt like he was maybe turning a little bit of a corner. Then when they let him go after training camp, I knew that was a guy that we wanted to try to target to get in here and see if we could work with him. The thing that I knew about him, I knew what was inside his heart in terms of the type of person he was, in terms of the type of worker he was, in terms of how he was going to fit into the locker room.
"There was no question about that. I think, like with a lot of young players, sometimes it takes some time to develop, but if you keep working at it and you're smart, you work at it, you've got some athletic ability, you end up getting better."
Third-year pro Noah Sewell also played an integral role on defense, appearing in 13 games, including nine starts, despite missing time with multiple injuries. Sewell totaled 59 tackles and three tackles-for-loss while also playing 43.6% of the special teams snaps this season.
Veteran Amen Ogbongbemiga and rookie Ruben Hyppolite II also saw action for the Bears, primarily on special teams.
