Gervon Dexter Sr. is having a strong third season for the Chicago Bears, which is an outcome many players, coaches, and executives forecasted, but it is still encouraging as they begin the stretch run of the season.
Moreover, he is focused on continuing his ascension ahead of a noteworthy matchup.
The No. 53 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Dexter has 4.0 sacks to go with 23 total tackles and 2 fumble recoveries through 10 games this season.
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Dexter also has 4 tackles for loss this season. To put his numbers into perspective, Dexter had 53 total stops, 5.0 sacks, 4 TFLs, 2 recoveries, and 1 pass deflection in 15 games last season.
The Bears will take his current pace, especially as they seek more from their pass rush.
“I think I’m doing all right,” Dexter told Clocker Sports on Wednesday. “Made a couple plays. Got some plays that I wish I would have made. So, a little up-and-down. But we winning as a team. So, it’s all good.”
Dexter, who turned 24 in October, is second behind only star defensive Montez Sweat on the team in pressures this season with 11, per Pro Football Reference.
He is still looking to put it all together more often.
“I’ll probably just say be a little more consistent,” Dexter said when asked for what is next in his development, harkening back to his initial self-assessment. “Can’t leave plays out there. So, just be a little more consistent.”
Finding that consistency was complicated by the injuries up front, including to defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who missed Weeks 4, 6, and 7 with a knee injury.
Dexter says he has taken “a lot” from Jarrett during their time playing alongside one another.
“Grady sees a lot of stuff before it happens,” Dexter told Clocker Sports. “So, just being able sometimes, when we in there together, he knows, ‘Okay, we can’t slide this.’ This or that. So, it’s been great with him.”
To Dexter’s point, he has logged 1 or fewer total stops six times this season. He did that three times all of last season.
He has also failed to record a single stop twice after having at least 1 in every game in 2024.
The Bears are seeing Dexter take his game to new heights. They just need him to level out the moments when he is not having a dominant game. That should be made easier as the Bears get healthier.
One of the most encouraging developments for the Bears is that they are getting healthier defensively, including up front. DEs Austin Booker and Dominique Robinson are back from injuries, right on time. Starter Dayo Odeyingbo and rookie Shemar Turner are out for the season.
The Bears also added Joe Tryon-Shoyinka before the trade deadline.
“It’s cool,” Dexter said. “In the D-line room, every guy can play. And there’s no drop up between the first and second or third guy. So, it’s been cool for all the guys to get in the rotation to get playing.”
Bears Know Aaron Rodgers Still Dangerous
The Bears’ defensive line could have its hands full in Week 12, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town and starting quarterback – and Bears arch-nemesis – Aaron Rodgers pushing to play through a fractured wrist.
If he plays, Dexter is looking forward to an opportunity to sack the canonically slippery QB.
“It’s huge to sack a guy like Aaron Rodgers. Obviously, a great player. Done a lot in this league. So, just to come down with one on a guy like that would be cool”.
Dexter has gone three games without a full sack. It could come this week, if he can get home.
“It’s Aaron Rodgers,” Dexter said of what makes the 10-time Pro Bowler and 2010 Super Bowl champion dangerous, even at this late stage, and how they hope to stop him. “He’s been in the league a long time. Knows how to dissect a defense. So, just getting around him, harassing him, getting to him. Obviously, a little older in his career. So, just hit him. Stuff like that.”
Rodgers downplayed his role as the villain in the Bears’ story, though he made sure to throw another jab at the team he once told, “I own you.”
Dexter, who has never played against Rodgers, was not on the team then.
Still, if the 2025 Bears are going to continue exercising demons of the franchise’s past, Rodgers is right up there with the most hated of them, his status only surpassed by the team he once played for and commended on Wednesday for continuing his legacy, the Green Bay Packers.
