Chicago Bears DE Yannick Ngakoue to undergo season-ending ankle surgery

LAKE FOREST – Bears defensive end Yannick Ngakoue will have season-ending surgery after breaking his ankle during Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

The injury occurred late in the game Sunday. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus announced Wednesday that Ngakoue will miss the final four games of the season.

Ngakoue signed as a free agent with the Bears on a one-year, $10 million contract in early August, after training camp had already begun. He was a major addition for the Bears at a time when they were thin on premier talent at the defensive end position.

He came to Chicago after recording at least eight sacks in each of his previous seven pro seasons. He was a Pro Bowl player in 2017 as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, when he recorded a career-high 12 sacks.

In 13 games with the Bears this season, Ngakoue totaled four sacks, seven quarterback hits, six tackles for loss and 22 combined tackles.

“I think that they were good, it could’ve been better,” Eberflus said of Ngakoue’s impact on the defensive line. “He missed some [sacks]. There was a lot of times he had [the quarterback] in the shoe there and he could’ve got them down.”

Ngakoue had a sack in Sunday’s game and has played well since the Bears traded for fellow defensive end Montez Sweat. The addition of Sweat allowed the Bears to be more creative with their pass rush looks.

Ngakoue and Sweat have been the one-two punch at defensive end since the Bears added Sweat on Oct. 31. With Ngakoue out, veteran DeMarcus Walker likely will step into the starting lineup. Walker started eight games before Sweat’s arrival. He has 1.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits and five tackles for loss in 13 games this season.

“It’s sad to see him go out that way,” Walker said. “It’s more just playing for him and helping to continue going on what we’ve built and keep this momentum going.”

It’s sad to see him go out that way. It’s more just playing for him and helping to continue going on what we’ve built and keep this momentum going.”

—  DeMarcus Walker, Bears defensive end

Walker also was a free agent addition over the offseason. He signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Bears in March. Walker was coming off a seven-sack season in 2022 with the Tennessee Titans. So far, however, he hasn’t had that same success in Chicago.

“Just staying focused on the main thing,” Walker said Wednesday at Halas Hall. “Preparing myself for every Sunday. Continue to go out there and give my best and affect the quarterback.”

Other young players also will have to step up. Second-year defensive end Dominique Robinson has spent the past month inactive on game days, but he likely will return to the game day lineup. The Bears selected Robinson with a fifth-round draft pick in 2022 out of Miami of Ohio. Robinson began his college career as a quarterback and a wide receiver, so his transition to edge rusher is relatively fresh.

“It’s everybody just step up,” Eberflus said. “Step into their roles, lean into it. When you have injury, you have an opportunity for people. For [Robinson], for [Walker], for all those guys that are going to be in there.”