CHICAGO BEARS
NFL
Montez Sweat Suspended 2 Games for PED Violation, Out vs Falcons and Patriots
The NFL suspended Bears defensive end Montez Sweat two games without pay for violating the league's Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, per Adam Schefter. Sweat will miss Sunday's Week 6 game at the Atlanta Falcons and the Week 7 Thursday night game against the New England Patriots. He is eligible for reinstatement on Friday, October 23.
The timing could not be worse for Chicago. The Bears are 3-2 and coming off a 31-7 blowout loss at Green Bay, their worst performance of the season. Now they head to Atlanta without their premier edge rusher, and fellow edge Dayo Odeyingbo hurt his quad in the Packers game with his status unknown.
Sweat has 2 sacks this season. The one-time Pro Bowler is in his fourth season with the Bears since arriving in a midseason trade from Washington in 2023, and he led the team with 10 sacks in 2025. Head coach Ben Johnson said before the season that Sweat had the best camp of his career.
The silver lining is Austin Booker. The third-year defensive end leads the Bears with 4 sacks after a two-sack breakout in Week 5, playing a career-high 72 percent of the snaps. With Sweat out and Odeyingbo uncertain, Booker becomes Chicago's top edge rusher against the Falcons and Patriots.
The suspension also hits Sweat's wallet hard. Per Spotrac, he will forfeit $2.3M of his 2026 salary for the two games. Worse, the remaining $12.7M on his 2026 salary is now unsecured, because a PED suspension voids all future guarantees. Sweat is due a non-guaranteed $21M in 2027.
What it means
The Bears are road favorites in Atlanta, but losing Sweat thins a pass rush that has to face Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday and then Drake Maye four days later. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will have to get creative to manufacture pressure, and the secondary that just got torched by Green Bay has to hold up. For fantasy managers, the Bears defense takes a hit as a unit, while Booker becomes an IDP add.
Key Facts
- Suspension: 2 games without pay, violation of NFL Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy (VIA Schefter).
- Misses: Week 6 at Falcons (Sun Oct 18), Week 7 vs Patriots (Thu Oct 22).
- Reinstatement: Eligible Friday, October 23.
- Season: 2 sacks. Led Bears with 10 sacks in 2025.
- Next man up: Austin Booker (4 sacks, team lead; 2 sacks in Week 5).
- Also hurt: Dayo Odeyingbo (quad), status unknown.
- Money: Forfeits $2.3M of 2026 salary. Remaining $12.7M now unsecured (PED suspension voids all future guarantees). Due a non-guaranteed $21M in 2027. (VIA Spotrac)
- Team: Bears 3-2 after 31-7 loss at Packers.
VIA Schefter, Spotrac, Bears Wire, theScore, SI.
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