Bears LB Jack Sanborn placed on season-ending IR

Vincent Carchietta - USA Today Sports

Tony Crumpton - Senior Editor - Tuesday, December 20 2022

Not great news for the Bears defense.

The Bears announced on Tuesday that rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn will be placed on the injured reserve, ending his season.

Sanborn suffered an ankle injury early in the second half during Sunday's loss against the Eagles. He was carted to the locker room with the injury.

The young middle linebacker has been impressive this season, recording 54 tackles and five tackles for loss in only five starts.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said that Sanborn has made quite a strong impression on him and the team.

"Just his maturity,” Eberflus said. “His ability to handle that space. Coming in there, we had some injuries and whatnot, and being able to function and then the production. He had a lot of tackling production. His instincts we saw, and we saw that during training camp, so we were excited about that. He's an impactful player and we're excited to have him.”

Tough break on the injury but the Bears appear to have their starting middle linebacker penciled in for a long time.