CINCINNATI–Hunter Hillenmeyer will play for the first time since Sept. 27 at Seattle when he suffered two broken ribs.
He is returning to action back at his familiar spot at strong-side linebacker. This will be Hillenmeyer’s 50th career start on the strong side. Nick Roach will start at middle linebacker, making his third career start there.
Roach has led the defense in tackles over the last two games with 20 while playing in the middle.
This will be the fifth different combination of starting linebackers the Bears have used this season. Here is a look at how it’s gone:
Opponent Strong Middle Weak
Green Bay Pisa-Urlacher-Briggs
Pittsburgh Roach-Hunter-Briggs
Seattle Roach-Hunter-Briggs
Detroit Jamar-Roach-Briggs
Atlanta Pisa-Roach-Briggs
Cincinnati Hunter-Roach-Briggs