Eddie Jackson’s resurgent season has a harsh ending: Chicago Bears place the safety on injured reserve

The Chicago Bears placed Eddie Jackson on injured reserve Tuesday, cutting short a resurgent season from the sixth-year safety.

Jackson suffered a non-contact left foot injury in the second quarter of a 31-10 loss to the New York Jets on a rainy Sunday in New Jersey. On Mike White’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, Jackson was backpedaling when he slipped with nobody around him. He limped off the field without putting weight on his leg.

NFL Network reported Tuesday that Jackson suffered a Lisfranc injury — which occurs in the middle of the foot — and still was receiving doctors’ opinions.

As coach Matt Eberflus confirmed Monday, the Bears also placed wide receiver Darnell Mooney on injured reserve. Mooney is likely to need season-ending ankle surgery. The team promoted defensive back A.J. Thomas from the practice squad.

Jackson, who will be 29 in December, was having his most productive season since 2018. He had four interceptions, six passes defended, two forced fumbles and 80 tackles in 12 games.

The 2017 fourth-round pick out of Alabama is among the longest-tenured Bears players and an important leader, especially after the Bears traded away veterans Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith at midseason. Jackson never has missed more than three games in a season.

“When you lose the production of those guys, number one, that always hurts and also the leadership part of it,” Eberflus said of Jackson and Mooney. “Those guys have been great in the locker room. They are great teammates. They really are encouraging to others and they really model the behavior we wish to see.”

Jackson went through a two-year stretch without an interception, but he spoke multiple times about being re-energized this season after struggles the last couple of years on and off the field. The new coaching staff billed this year as a fresh start, and he was making the most of it.

“Eddie is in my opinion the best in the game,” safety DeAndre Houston-Carson said. “A great teammate. Obviously it hurts us, but we just have to find a way to try to find that production from other people.”

Houston-Carson, a seventh-year special teams leader and longtime backup safety, started alongside Jackson on Sunday in place of rookie Jaquan Brisker, who was in concussion protocol. Safety Dane Cruikshank suffered a hamstring injury during the game, so the Bears turned to rookie Elijah Hicks to fill in for Jackson. It was the first career snaps on defense for Hicks, a seventh-round pick out of California.

The Jets scored two third-quarter touchdowns to run away with the win.

“All I told Elijah at one point is, ‘It’s just like practice. You know? Don’t make it too big,’” Houston-Carson said. “And I think he did a great job when he came in.”

The Bears return to practice Wednesday at Halas Hall, and it will be worth watching for the returns of Brisker and cornerback Kyler Gordon, who also missed Sunday’s game while in concussion protocol.

The Bears signed veteran safety Adrian Colbert to the practice squad Tuesday. Colbert has played in 39 games (22 starts) over five seasons with five teams but hasn’t played in a game this year.

Jackson hasn’t spoken to reporters, so it’s unclear whether he slipped in the rainy conditions or his injury was a result of MetLife Stadium’s slit film turf. Nearly three weeks ago, NFL Players Association President JC Tretter called for the replacement and ban of slit film turf fields — of which there are six in the NFL — to help prevent injuries, including non-contact ones like Jackson suffered.

Eberflus wouldn’t comment specifically on the turf at MetLife Stadium, which reportedly is reviewing proposals for a replacement. The stadium has had several complaints over the years, including from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year after former Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller tore his ACL there.

But Eberflus did say player safety should be “very important” to the Bears and the NFL.

“We’ve got to make sure that we take care of the players,” Eberflus said. “And if that’s adjusting surfaces throughout the league, that’s a good idea. If it’s changing the rules to make sure the players’ safety is good — helmet-to-helmet contacts, blindside blocks, all the things that we’ve changed — that’s always a positive. Because it’s a players’ game, right? We’ve got to keep good players in the game.”