playCourtney CroninOct 13, 2026, 04:17 PM ETCloseCourtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever and GameNight on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsChicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat has been suspended for two games without pay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.Sweat, 30, will miss the Bears’ Week 6 matchup at the Atlanta Falcons and Week 7 against the New England Patriots.
He will be eligible for reinstatement Oct. 23.Sweat’s suspension comes two days after fellow Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo exited the first half of Chicago’s 31-7 loss at the Green Bay Packers with a quad injury and did not return. Chicago coach Ben Johnson did not have an update on Odeyingbo’s health Monday.Sweat has totaled seven tackles and two sacks over Chicago’s first five games. He led the Bears with 10 sacks last season.On Tuesday, the Bears activated defensive end Shemar Turner off the physically unable to perform list. Turner, a 2025 second-round pick, has been back at practice since Sept. 23 and will take Sweat’s spot on the 53-man roster.Turner was limited to five games during his rookie season and suffered a season-ending ACL tear Oct. 26, 2025.
He provides depth to a thin group at defensive end led by Austin Booker, who has a team-high four sacks.”I think with any of these guys that are coming off the PUP list, to think that any of them would be ready to go in there and play 50, 60, 70 plays in a game, I think that would be unrealistic to think,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said last week. “With all of these guys, as we begin to get some of them back, I think the prudent action would be start to incorporate them in and yet don’t expect them to be full-time players initially.”
