Promising rookie Shemar Turner's season ends prematurely with ACL tear, leaving a significant void on Chicago's struggling defensive front.
Bears Suffer Another Blow as Rookie Shemar Turner Lost for Season
A banged-up Chicago Bears defense is only getting more injured as the season goes on.
The Bears saw several defenders go down in Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and test results have now confirmed the worst-case scenario for a promising rookie.
Shemar Turner, a defensive lineman taken in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft (62nd overall), suffered a torn ACL on Sunday and will miss the remainder of the season.
Turner played defensive tackle in college but recently made the move to defensive end — a switch that had paid off for Chicago. Since the change, the Bears’ run defense had improved dramatically, and Turner looked increasingly comfortable setting the edge.
Losing him not only halts the development of a high-upside rookie, but also weakens the Bears’ defensive front in the short term. Head coach Ben Johnson acknowledged the significance of the loss.
“When we made that transition to defensive end with him, it certainly coincided with our ability to stop the run at a higher clip,” Johnson said to Bears media on Monday. “We thought he was part of the solution there for us. He looked natural at that spot for a guy who hadn’t done a ton of it. We were really excited to see what the next half of the season was going to look like as he continued to develop in that role. So yeah, it’s a shame that we’re going to miss out on him.”
Defensive end continues to be a position of weakness for Chicago. Austin Booker has spent the entire season on injured reserve, leaving Montez Sweat with little help on the opposite side.
Meanwhile, the secondary remains depleted — Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are both on IR, and Tyrique Stevenson is listed day-to-day. The Bears’ defense has been gashed all season, and while turnovers helped fuel their recent four-game winning streak, things could unravel quickly if this injury trend continues.
It was refreshing to see the Bears come out of their bye week with a relatively clean bill of health — but that didn’t last long. With key players falling left and right, Chicago’s depth is being tested in a way that could define the rest of their season.
Things won't get any easier for the Bears defense in the coming weeks. They're set to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, who have scored 71 points in their last two games since making Joe Flacco the starting quarterback.