Head coach Ben Johnson told reporters Friday that Booker is going to be out for "a few weeks" due to a knee injury, Sean Hammond of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Booker suffered the injury during the Bears' second preseason game against the Bills, which prevented him from playing against the Chiefs on Friday. The 2024 fifth-rounder is projected to serve in a rotational role at defensive end behind Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo. Dominique Robinson (ankle), Tanoh Kpassagnon and Daniel Hardy would be candidates to step into a backup role on the Bears' defensive line if Booker cannot suit up in Week 1 against the Vikings on Monday, Sept. 8.
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Bears' Austin Booker: Early exit Sunday
Rotowire
Booker (knee) has been ruled out for the rest of Sunday's preseason contest against the Bills, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Booker suffered a knee injury in the second half, finishing his night with two total tackles (one solo), including 1.0 sacks, while also adding a pass defensed. The defensive end has compiled 4.0 sacks so far in the preseason, and he'll look to be back in action in the team's preseason finale against the Chiefs on Friday.
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Bears' Austin Booker: Scooped up by Chicago in Round 5
Rotowire
The Bears selected Booker in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 144th overall.
This looks like a nice pick for Chicago, because Booker is probably one of the more talented edge rushers in the draft. The catch is that Booker (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) might need development time or/and time to bulk up before he can play regular snaps, and he might be a healthy scratch up to that point. The Kansas product probably hurt his stock at the NFL Combine between the low weigh-in and the resultingly disappointing 4.79-second 40-yard dash, but he likely would have had a more well-rounded workout if he had the benefit of another year or two of development, as he has only 18 games of college experience.
