The Bears on Tuesday placed receiver Darnell Mooney and safety Eddie Jackson on injured reserve and promoted rookie safety A.J. Thomas from the practice squad to active roster.
Mooney sustained an ankle injury that will require season-ending surgery early in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Jets. He was hurt while blocking on David Montgomery's 13-yard run when a defender rolled up the back of the receiver's leg.
Mooney leads the Bears in receiving with 40 catches for 493 yards. After catching 10 passes for 173 yards in the first five games, he had 30 receptions for 320 yards in the last seven contests.
Mooney was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of Tulane. His 142 receptions in 2020-21 are the most by any Bears player in his first two NFL seasons.
Jackson was also injured against the Jets. He hurt his foot on Garrett Wilson's 54-yard touchdown reception late in the first half without being contacted by another player. The Bears have not yet indicated whether the injury is season ending.
Jackson was enjoying a resurgent season. He leads the defense in four key statistical categories with 61 tackles, four interceptions, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles—and he's currently the leading vote-getter among NFC free safeties for the Pro Bowl.
Thomas joined the Bears this year as an undrafted free agent and spent the first 12 weeks of the season on the practice squad. He appeared in 44 games over five seasons at Western Michigan, compiling 221 tackles, 16.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks and two interceptions.
The Bears were down to two healthy safeties against the Jets, veteran DeAndre Houston-Carson and rookie seventh-round pick Elijah Hicks. Jaquan Brisker was inactive due to a concussion, while Jackson (foot) and Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) exited with injuries.
The Bears on Tuesday also signed safety Adrian Colbert to their practice squad. He has appeared in 39 NFL games with 22 starts for the 49ers (2017-18), Seahawks (2019), Dolphins (2019), Giants (2020), Jets (2021) and Browns (2021), recording 109 tackles, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He has also spent time with the Chiefs (2020), Patriots (2021) and Titans (2022).
Colbert was selected by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of Miami. He most recently spent part of training camp this summer with Tennessee but was waived as part of final cuts.
