Bears rule out S Brisker, as GM discusses Caleb Williams' progress
WARE, England -- The Chicago Bears ruled out safety Jaquan Brisker for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Brisker reported concussion-like symptoms on Monday, and he was later diagnosed with one and placed in the NFL's concussion protocol. He did not travel with the team to London. This is the third diagnosed concussion for Brisker since the 2022 season.
The third-year safety was involved in a collision with Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble in the second quarter of Chicago's 36-10 win over Carolina. Brisker forced a fumble on the play and remained in the game, playing all but the final series when the Bears pulled most of their defensive starters. Tremble exited the game with a concussion.
"I thought he did a really good job actually of getting his head out of it and using his shoulder, but unfortunately the offensive player hit the side of his helmet," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Wednesday from the team's practice facility at Hanbury Manor outside of London. "All of the mechanisms that are put in place by the league and team were there -- spot checks, all of that -- but he was cleared all the way through and the symptoms popped up Monday, so we want to respect that and make sure that he's healthy as we move forward, so that's why he stayed behind."
Coach Matt Eberflus announced that Elijah Hicks will start in place of Brisker.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since roster cutdown day at the end of August, Poles addressed the progress he has seen from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams after the best performance of young career against Carolina. The 2024 No. 1 pick completed 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards, 2 touchdowns and no turnovers with a 126.2 passer rating, becoming the first Bears rookie quarterback to throw for 300 yards and no interceptions in a game.
Williams' improvement over the Bears' last two wins against the Rams and Panthers has Poles encouraged about the rookie's growth, despite Williams opening the season vs. the Tennessee Titans by throwing for 93 yards and only throwing for 157 yards and a touchdown versus the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4.
"I think he's learning how to play professional football," Poles said. "And when I say that, that means to have a winning mentality in terms of what does it take to win football games from the quarterback position. And you've seen that in terms of the efficiency, protecting the football, taking what's given to him and then going into this last game, now explosives are starting to show up. So I really like his progress, I love the work ethic and the time that he's put into it, the grit and toughness, the ability to bounce back from tough games.
"He's right where he should be and he's continuing to get better."
Williams' development as a major headline of the 2024 season coincides with the success that fellow rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has experienced in Washington. Daniels is the favorite to win the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award (-225 at ESPN BET) after becoming just the third rookie quarterback ever to start the season 4-1 or better in his first five games, according to ESPN Research. He is the third player in NFL history with 1,000 passing yards and 300 rushing yards through three games of a season.
The Commanders selected Daniels with the No. 2 pick after the Bears drafted Williams.
When asked whether he has to guard against comparing Williams' start to Daniels, Poles stressed that he wants the quarterback to focus on his own journey.
"The human side of it is you want your guy to just take off and roll, but everyone's journey is gonna be different," Poles said. "I think the important thing is for Caleb to understand that as well and run his own race, and he's done that well in terms of just focusing on how can I get better, how can I put our team in a position to win games."
For his part, Williams acknowledged the success that others might have across the NFL but doesn't find himself comparing his early career struggles and successes with how other rookie QBs are performing
"I think the biggest thing is not trying to be in someone else's shoes," Williams said. "I do things in my life that I enjoy, hobbies outside of football, football and I focus on those things. Watching those guys and things like that, they're out there balling, they're out there doing their thing. It's expected and as they should. So watching them, don't feel any way. Obviously I want to go out there and play, be who I am, us be explosive as an offense, be myself, and that's what I'm going to do and that's what we focus on is being ourselves, going out there as an offense and as a team and trying to help each other go out there and win. That's the only thing that matters at the end of the day.
"If you go look at anybody else's ... if you talk about anybody else, if you want to talk about any other sports, the only thing that people really mention -- and it's why Michael Jordan is the GOAT, is because he wins. Each week focusing on our task at hand and that's winning that game each week. That's the most important thing, the most important stat. The end-all, be-all."
