Austin Booker’s Emergence Gives Bears a Glimpse of a Brighter Pass-Rushing Future
For most of his young NFL career, Austin Booker has been more of a "what if" than a "watch this." Coming into the league, he was raw-just 505 defensive snaps in college-and his rookie year in Chicago didn’t do much to change that narrative.
A struggling Bears coaching staff barely gave him a shot, limiting him to just 283 snaps in 2024. But sometimes, all it takes is opportunity-and in Booker’s case, a healthy knee.
Fast forward to the 2025 preseason opener: Booker turned heads with a three-sack performance against the Miami Dolphins. It was the kind of outing that made you sit up and think, “Okay, maybe there’s something here.”
But just as quickly as the hype started to build, a knee injury in the very next preseason game sent him to injured reserve. He didn’t make his season debut until Week 9.
When he finally got on the field, Booker didn’t waste time making an impact. He logged a sack in his first game back and ended the season with 4.5 sacks across 10 games. More importantly, he was on the field for 80% of the Bears’ defensive snaps during that stretch-exactly the kind of reps a young, developing edge rusher needs.
Former Bears center Olin Kreutz recently spoke on Mully and Haugh on 670 The Score, highlighting Booker as one of the in-house players who could take a leap next season. Kreutz posed the key question: “Can he become the pass rusher that we’re talking about?” He pointed to the reps Booker got this year and emphasized the next step-studying film, improving against the run, and becoming a consistent third-down disruptor.
For a Bears defense that leaned heavily on Montez Sweat to generate pressure, Booker’s emergence couldn’t have come at a better time. Sweat was a one-man wrecking crew for most of the season, but he finally got some help when Booker entered the lineup. Despite playing just over half the season, Booker finished third on the team in sacks (4.5) and was the only edge rusher not named Sweat to record more than 1.5 sacks.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra recently spotlighted one surprise contributor from each NFC team, and Booker got the nod for Chicago. The numbers back it up: 4.5 sacks, 30 quarterback pressures, and a 9.9% pressure rate over his 10 games. Those aren’t just solid numbers for a second-year player-they’re the kind of stats that suggest there’s real upside here.
And here’s where things get interesting: before Booker joined the lineup, the Bears were near the bottom of the league in pressure rate (28.7%, 27th) and pressures per game (9.1, 31st). After Week 9, those numbers jumped to 33.2% (21st) and 12.5 pressures per game (14th). That’s not elite, but it’s a noticeable improvement-and Booker’s presence played a role.
It also had a ripple effect on Sweat’s production. From the moment Booker stepped on the field, Sweat recorded seven of his 10 sacks and 12 of his 18 quarterback hits. Having a legitimate threat on the opposite edge made life harder for offensive lines and easier for Sweat-and that’s how good defenses are built.
Booker is still a work in progress. He’s not a finished product, and the Bears still need to add more firepower to their defensive front. But what he showed in 10 games was enough to suggest he belongs in the conversation for 2026 and beyond.
The Bears are expected to target defensive line help in the upcoming draft, and that makes sense. You can never have too many guys who can get after the quarterback.
But in Booker, they’ve already got a piece of the puzzle in place. He’s not just depth-he’s part of the plan.