Bears put Austin Booker on IR, Cubs miss chance to gain ground and No. 12 Illinois a heavy favorite
Sports Friday, August 29, 2025 | | |
| | | | | Good morning, Chicago. The Bears didn’t waste time bringing back long snapper Scott Daly and wide receiver/punt returner Devin Duvernay to the 53-man roster — but in making those moves, they placed defensive end Austin Booker on injured reserve. Booker is now out until at least the Week 6 game at
Washington on Oct. 13. He has to miss a minimum of four games, and the Bears have a bye in Week 5. The second-year defensive end was a bright spot in training camp and had four sacks in the first two preseason games, but he suffered a knee injury playing special teams in the 38-0 victory over the Bills on Aug. 17. His four sacks led the league in the preseason and he figures to play a complementary role behind Montez Sweat and
Dayo Odeyingbo, but now the Bears must wait for any contributions. One source had said he believed Booker would miss three to five weeks, so it’s not surprising he will do a stint on IR — although the team surely had hoped to avoid that. Stay connected with us all day: Sign up for our newsletters to get the latest news in your inbox. And you can follow us on social media: X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Not a Tribune subscriber? Here's our latest offer. | | | | The Green Bay Packers made a massive trade Thursday for Micah Parsons, a deal that has major implications on the NFC North. It simply wasn’t the right time for the Chicago Bears. | | | | | The Chicago Cubs were swept out of San Francisco on Thursday, falling to the Giants 4-3. It was the first time this season the Cubs were swept in a three-game series. | | | | | The Chicago White Sox made three errors and surrendered 3 home runs in a 10-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. | | | | | As the Chicago Bears’ 2025 season draws near, it’s a good time to look back at the last 25 years and compile an All-Quarter-Century Team. | | | | | Notre Dame returns 11 starters from the team that lost to Ohio State in the national title game. But the Irish are rebooting under a new QB who hasn’t thrown a pass in a college game. | | | | | Illinois returns 16 starters from last season — tied for the most in the nation — entering Friday’s season opener against Western Illinois. | | | |
