Austin Booker is ready and just in the nick of time for the Chicago Bears, too.
Booker has practiced in full for two weeks. After months of waiting overall, Booker will make his 2025 regular-season debut for the Bears in Week 9. They are on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The No. 144 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Booker recorded 1.5 sacks for the Bears as a rookie. However, he tallied 5.0 sacks in two preseason games before a knee injury sidelined him deep into his second season.
Now healthy and in line for activation off injured reserve, Booker is anxious to make an impact.
Austin Booker Sends Strong Message Before Debut in Bears-Bengals
Bears DE Austin Booker Set for 2025 Debut
The Bears announced that they had opened the 21-day practice window for Booker on October 7, and head coach Ben Johnson finally confirmed the high-effort end would make his season debut in Week 9 on the road against the Bengals.
“I’m super anxious. I’m super ready to play, bro. Get out there and play physical, run around, be a spark for my teammates, and just I’m excited,” Booker told Clocker Sports on Friday.
Booker believes he can help on the field in a variety of ways, all of which involve disruption.
“I think I can be the person to get [opposing quarterbacks] off the spot super fast,” Booker told Clocker Sports. “Or if I’m telling one of the D-tackles to cover me, I feel like I can just beat him fast, but at the same time, do my job, stay on the edge. Keep them contained. Just help out in any way possible.”
Austin Booker Wants to Be Every-Down Player
Booker is also eager to prove that he is a complete player, and not just a pass rusher, telling Clocker Sports, “I think coming into the season, I was looked at as a pass rusher. But just being that all-down defensive end that I know I can be. So, we’re going to see this game.”
To that end, Booker said his three-plus weeks of practicing but not playing were “disappointing.”
“I’m super competitive, so I was super impatient,” Booker told Clocker Sports. “I’m glad to be back now.”
Booker called on a higher power during his downtime, telling Clocker Sports that he “put God in my prayers, and I think God spoke through me, and just to be energetic for the team. I had the speaker in the locker room pregame, stuff like that. So just trying to be spark energy for the team while I was out.”
It is probably overzealous to expect Booker to be a solution for the Bears’ inconsistent pass rush. They have Dayo Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat starting. But with injuries to Dominique Robinson (ankle) and rookie second-round pick Shemar Turner (knee, IR), Booker’s return could not have come at a better time for the Bears.