Bears DE Montez Sweat Exits Training Camp Practice With Trainer, Injury Status Unclear

Chicago Bears training camp has turned into an injury watch, and Thursday added a name nobody in Halas Hall wanted to see leave the field: Montez Sweat.

Sweat slowed up during an 11-on-11 rep and pulled himself out of practice, walking to the building with a trainer rather than staying down. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, who posted on X: “Bears DE Montez Sweat heading into the building with trainer Andre Tucker”

#Bears DE Montez Sweat heading into the building with trainer Andre Tucker. Like Braxton Jones, he was walking on his own. But two key players have left so far.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 6, 2026

The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain described a similar sequence, reporting that Sweat appeared to slow up on the rep before taking himself off the field. Bears reporter Zack Pearson and the Tribune’s Sean Hammond both confirmed Sweat made the walk under his own power, according to Heavy.com.

That’s the one piece of good news so far. Nobody had to help him off. But as of this writing, the Bears haven’t released any word on what Sweat is actually dealing with, or how long it might keep him out.

A Rough Day at Halas Hall

Sweat wasn’t the only starter to leave early. Left tackle Braxton Jones exited the same practice with an apparent injury after a rep against Austin Booker, showing visible pain on the sideline, according to ClutchPoints. Cornerback Dallis Flowers went down shortly after while covering a play involving wide receiver Kyron Hudson and needed help getting off the field, per Yahoo Sports.

ESPN Radio’s Courtney Cronin described the session as unusually physical, with tempers flaring during 9-on-7 work — the kind of practice pace that tends to produce exactly this sort of scare, according to Heavy.com.

It’s Day 8 of training camp, and the Bears are already dealing with more names on the injury list than they’d like this early. This isn’t Sweat’s first appearance on it, either. He opened camp on the non-football illness list before being activated in time for his training camp debut.

Why This Injury Would Hurt More Than Most

Chicago went into the offseason with a clear need at pass rusher and didn’t address it. No high-profile free-agent signing, no meaningful draft investment at the position — a decision the front office made because of the confidence it has in the players already on the roster. That bet leans almost entirely on Sweat staying healthy.

He’s been the engine of that group since arriving. Sweat led the Bears with 10 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits and three forced fumbles last season while starting all 17 games, a workload that made him arguably the entire pass rush by himself in 2025, per Heavy.com. He’s also led the team in sacks in every season since Chicago acquired him from Washington at the 2023 trade deadline, including six sacks in just nine games that first partial year.

Behind him, the depth chart is unproven. Dayo Odeyingbo and Austin Booker are the top options across from Sweat, and neither has established himself as a player capable of anchoring the room if Sweat is out for any real stretch.

What Comes Next

The Bears will run further evaluation before saying anything official about the injury’s severity. Until Chicago issues a statement or Sweat’s name shows up on a formal injury report, everything about the diagnosis remains speculation — the reporting so far only confirms that he left practice and walked off on his own.

For a team coming off its first NFC North title since 2018 and chasing another playoff run, losing its best edge rusher for any real length of time would be one of the more damaging outcomes training camp could produce. The next update from Halas Hall will matter a lot more than this one.