Bears defensive line gets boost with return of Mario Edwards from suspension

The Bears defense is coming off an impressive performance against the Bengals, where they rebounded to the tune of four takeaways. Now, they’re getting back an important member of their defensive line.

Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. is back on the Bears roster following his two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Now, Edwards will find his way back into the rotation on the defensive line.

Following a career season in 2020, the Bears signed a three-year, $11 million extension to keep in the rotation through 2023.

The Bears don’t need to make a corresponding roster move considering they already placed rookie offensive tackle Larry Borom on injured reserve last week.

Mario Edwards Jr. is officially #back on the Bears roster after his two-week suspension.

Fun fact: he led the defense “splash plays per snap”, picking up an impact play on 7.1% of his snaps in 2020.

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) September 22, 2021

The hope is Chicago will get back another valuable member of the defensive line in nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who has missed the first two games with a knee injury. We’ll know more once the Bears release their first practice report.