Football teams often have several leaders but still lack leadership. In a sport with three distinct phases — offense, defense and special teams — it’s hard to find one guy who speaks for everybody. There’s rarely one player who even figuratively wears the “C.”
The Bears, like many NFL teams, have four permanent captains — safety Eddie Jackson, quarterback Justin Fields, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and wide receiver DJ Moore — plus a game-day captain.
“And there’s a lot of guys on this team that are leaders but don’t have the captain [label],” linebacker Jack Sanborn said. “Everyone’s got to be a leader.”
But nobody embraces that role like Jaquan Brisker. A 2022 second-round draft pick (48th overall), Brisker is not a team captain but is emerging as a team leader who has stepped up in a difficult time as a dependable, respected voice inside the locker room. He’s the safety who chats up the kicker.
“I don’t work with Cairo [Santos], but I talk to Cairo every single day,” Brisker said. “I want to know how he’s doing, how his family’s doing, what his kids [are doing] — things like that. You just have to build that relationship with your teammates, and it’s going to pay off later in the end, so I think that’s important.”
Brisker’s leadership will be needed Sunday against the Broncos and Russell Wilson, with the Bears missing three starters in the secondary.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) and Jackson (foot) are out. Starting slot cornerback Kyler Gordon (broken hand) has been on injured reserve since Week 2. Backup slot cornerback Josh Blackwell (hamstring) was put on injured reserve Friday.
So the Bears’ secondary against Denver is expected to be rookies Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith at cornerback, Greg Stroman Jr. at slot cornerback and Brisker and Elijah Hicks at safety.
Brisker figures to be the leader of that group, and not just because he has the most experience.
“Since the day that he got here, you could tell he wanted to be a vocal guy,” Santos said. “He’s one of the guys on offense and defense I see checking in on everyone throughout practice. He comes to [the specialists], dabs us up every now and then. We’re holding the ball, and he comes and punches the ball — kind of a ball-security [thing]. So I can see he’s thinking that all the time, even though he’s just doing it to the specialists. It’s just a part of him, and he’s attentive to those details.”
Brisker’s leadership role is more than cajoling and encouraging and setting a good example. He’s not afraid to be critical and tell it like it is. That’s arguably the most important facet to any leadership role.
“I’m comfortable [doing that] because I know my guys,” Brisker said. “You can’t just come out with people in certain different ways. You’ve got to know the person, how he wants to be [approached], what type of person he is.”
Being critical can be a delicate balance when it’s among teammates. But Brisker already seems to know how to walk that tightrope.
“We’re not finger-pointing or tearing apart; it’s about accountability,” Brisker said. “We’re all grown men, and we all want to win a Super Bowl.
“[When] you’re a leader, you have to own up to your mistakes. Once they see that, it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s not just always something something when he’s perfect.’ I’m going to say something when I’m not doing things right, and I’m not always gonna do things right. But they know I’m gonna do things at 1,000%. They know who the room gets every single day. As long as they know that, then they truly believe everything I say.”
Indeed, they do.
“He’s definitely someone guys look up to . . . because you know how much it means to him,” Sanborn said. “You can see that when he talks and plays. It’s easy to follow guys like that.”
