Jaquan Brisker's Return Gives Bears Safe Feeling in Back

The Bears have their all-purpose defender back in the secondary, and it's kind of a two-for-one deal.

With Jaquan Brisker returning to the lineup to face Carolina Thursday, they'll actually have both of their starting safeties together. They're hoping Eddie Jackson and Brisker can play together in a full game for the first time since the season opener.

"We have to be out there, all of us, the whole secondary, especially me and Eddie," Brisker said Tuesday. "We gotta be out there. We gotta be out there healthy. We gotta be out there playing. We get that opportunity this Thursday and hopefully we be consistent throughout the year and we do what we do—and that's fly around, be ballhawks, use us as Swiss army knives and things like that. Get us involved and you're gonna see what's gonna happen."

Brisker is truly the defender who does everything from going into the box to stop the run to defending deep to blitzing for a sack. He led the team in sacks as a safety last year.

However, the Bears didn't have him the last two games because of a strange situation with a concussion. Actually, it was more than a concussion and he sat out the Chargers game and then last week as well.

"Felt sick at the beginning of the week and obviously wasn't feeling well," he said. "Got diagnosed with a concussion. Just was a long tough week for me."

Not just a concussion. He felt sick because he was sick.

"Yeah, just a separate type of illness," he said. "And then obviously I had the concussion with it. It just came together."

So once over his cold/concussion or concussion-enza or whatever, he appears set to play but in his case it's a concern because it's his second concussion in his first two seasons and also because of his dynamic, all-out playing style.

"It's a physical game," Brisker said. "Like I said earlier this year, I know what I signed up for and things like that. I'm a physical-type player. I'm always going to be physical. Nothing's really going to change.

"Obviously, I've just got to take care of my neck and things like that, make sure I strengthen it and try to avoid certain injuries like that."

He called last year's concussion "...way worse. I just remember last year I was out for like three weeks. Now I'm back returning for a Thursday night game. Quicker recovery and things like that."

While Brisker missed the last two games, Eddie Jackson did return a bit earlier from the foot injury he suffered in Week 2. He tried to return Oct. 15 against the Vikings and lines up alongside Brisker couldn't go more than 14 snaps. So he sat out two more games and now is back reunited with Brisker.

At this point, backup Elijah Hicks leads the Bears in snaps played on defense from the safety corps with 479. Brisker has 408 and Jackson 154.

Last week it was Jackson back.

"Hee definitely has some energy about him," safeties coach Andre Curtis said. "I thought he made some really nice plays, made some good coverage adjustments. Some things, having not played for a while, that should certainly be better this week. But I was pleased with where he started last week. He did a nice job."

Brisker's multiple uses can give acting Bears defensive coordinator and head coach Matt Eberflus some more options.

"You never take it for granted, the things that does and all the little things that he can do," Curtis said of Brisker. "Jaqaun's a really good player because he has a unique skillset. He can do a lot of different things. He can pressure the quarterback, he fits runs good, he's good in his quarters and his half and he's got juice.

"He's got juice, and our team kind of feeds off of that."

Now they're hoping they can feed off of it for an entire game.