Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards logged 12 tackles during his team’s win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, giving him an NFL-leading 112 for the year. It also made him the first player in Bears history to total 110 tackles through the first 10 weeks of a season (h/t Daniel Greenberg of FanSided).
Edwards has also tallied a couple of sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with his collection of tackles in 2023.
The 27-year-old is in his first year with Chicago after signing with the club via free agency back in March.
Edwards, who played his collegiate football at the University of Wisconsin, went undrafted but caught on with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 2019.
He had a very limited role during his rookie campaign, finishing with 30 tackles. The following year, Edwards’ role began to increase as he made 12 starts and registered 70 stops, a pair of sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles.
Edwards proceeded to break out in 2021, racking up 130 tackles, a sack, a pick, a fumble recovery and five passes defended. He then one-upped himself last season, rattling off 159 tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and seven passes defended.
He is currently on pace to finish with 190 tackles on the year. Hardy Nickerson set the single-season record with 214 tackles with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 1993, so as terrific as Edwards has been thus far, he still faces an uphill climb to set a new record.
The Bears have now won two of their last three games to improve their record to 3-7 on the season. For as bad as they have been most of the campaign, their defense has actually been fairly solid, as it ranks 14th in the NFL. What’s more, their rushing defense ranks second.
Chicago will look to build on its Week 10 win when it heads on the road to take on the NFC North division rival Detroit Lions next Sunday.
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