Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Did the Bears even consider bringing back safety Jaquan Brisker?

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote reacted to safety Jaquan Brisker leaving the Bears to sign with the Steelers.

I'm Sarah Turney. And I'm Courtney Nicole. We're the host of the Crime House original podcast, The Final Hours. Crime has impacted both of our families, teaching us how the last conversations, the missed red flags, can change everything. On the final hours, we examine the moments before a disappearance, and the questions that never got answered. A podcast that puts the moments before a disappearance under a microscope. Listen to and follow the final hours, available now wherever you get your podcasts. Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043, The Score.

Second down in five. Full was the target and Pristakers out near the 35. That is the first pick of the year for Jake Daniels. That is courtesy of ESPN. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score. And we will now take you back into a place we call the evidence. locker room. It's like inside the locker room, but just different. And not to be confused with inside the clubhouse. That's a completely different show. So if you missed it, we talked about

this earlier. Jaquan Bricker ends up signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a one-year contract. Now, Jaquan Bricker went to Penn State, as we understand Pittsburgh is the team he grew up cheering for. $5.5 million. He started all 17 games in 2025, but last year was a season where he only played in five because of concussion. And Mark, I think you and I are on the same page. Jaquan Brisker had a great game against the Rams than that final playoff game. He timed his exit brilliantly,

and now he's with another team. And for that price, it all got us wondering if possibly the Bears were going to be able to keep him or Kevin Byard. Byard goes to the Patriots when you're 9 million. But in looking back at this, were there other signs that Brisker may have not been here regardless?

Yeah, I don't think they were ever going to bring back Brisker, which in a way had to be a little bit difficult for Ryan Poles because he was part of his first draft class. He drafted Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon in the second round, and I guess that would have been 2022. Would have been Ryan Poles' first year. So there is some sentimental value there, or I would assume that there is for him. And yeah, like as I think it was Finley that was saying, it's not like he was a. speedster, but he was an enforcer. There was a fear factor with Brisker is what makes him a very valuable

player. The other part of Dequan Brisker, and I said, Joquan Brisker is one of my probably top five favorite Poles bears on Poles' watch just to talk to on and off the air, but he does talk a lot. He says things, and I'm talking about publicly

that maybe, maybe if they needed something to push them over the edge, if it wasn't the concussions, which are very well could have been. Very well could have been the five games, as you mentioned, that he only played in in the year prior to this past year. That could have been it. But I did start to think about the season and something that Jaquan Brisker said after the Detroit game, the second Detroit game, the last game of the season, I think it was, a 1916 win for Detroit. Amon Ra, St. Brown,

goes off in that game. The Bears lose the game, but let's listen back to what Jaquan Brisker said about Dennis Allen essentially. Alan said that they kind of used their strength against you. It's getting a lot of stuff in the middle of the field, their offense against your defense. Why was that, why were they able to get away with that so easily? We're playing a whole bunch of man today. No help in the middle. A lot of, you know, picks, rubs.

You know, really they scheme this up. And, you know, we just had to do a better job covering. So, yeah, they just got us in the right call. They just out-schemed us, really. Just be honest. Direct, direct indictments. Direct hit. Direct-hit casualties involved that he would say that they got out-schemed Dennis Allen.

And I remember we got to that Thursday, and none of us, that includes me, I don't think anybody asked them about that because it was the playoffs, right? I think that we were talking about at that point going into the Green Bay game. So it became a moot point that maybe we should have followed up on, but there's no way in hell that Dennis Allen didn't hear that. And of course, he's a human being. DA, if he heard that, could not have liked that, maybe even talked to DeQuan Brisker about it. I am not saying that that's the reason,

but it might be the resume of talking that DeQuan Brisker has done through the years. I'll never forget two years ago, the final game in Green Bay, that the Bears lost and they were getting burned by Romeo Dobbs and all the the 800-yard type receivers that Green Bay had and still has to some degree. And I remember him just, I was part of a group of reporters talking to him at Lambeau Field. He went off on how bad and weak the Packers, that they basically paraphrasing that the receivers suck on Green Bay. There were several examples throughout his career where I'm guessing the Bears were like, we can't stop him from saying these things, but we don't particularly like it.

So while I don't know if it was the biggest reason, I think maybe there was some justifying moving on from Jaquan Bristker may have been part of Chiquan Brisker's words. Words hurt, Leila. What they do, before I have more evidence to support that theory with the words, was he wrong about Detroit in that game? No. He wasn't.

He wasn't. But that's for us to say. I will never know it's not. The players need to say it all than we do. And by the way, if you heard my question right there, it was Jalen Johnson who said it first. Now, he didn't say out-schemed, but it was Jalen that put it in my ear. And that's why I took it to Dequan Brisker, who just straight up said we got out-schemed. I swear, I thought the secondary must have been the place to be in the locker room last year.

Yeah, I'm going to miss all those guys. They were a chatty bunch. They had a lot going on. I just feel like it was like it was the place to be. You're right. The C.J. Gardner Johnson. Nishon Wright was great. Yes. I mean, everybody, obviously Kevin Byard.

Kevin Byrd. Brisker's telling you guys about how he made Justin Jefferson cry. You know who was the like super cerebral smart guy who always kind of rolled his eyes over all those guys was one Josh Blackwell. Josh Blackwell, the Duke guy over there. Like always was like, I would walk over there and he would kind of give me the help me out with these guys, will you? Because he was the level headed guy. Well, obviously given my line of work, I love a man who can yap. And I just feel like all the secondary knew how to use. Yap. And it wasn't just trash talk. It was like genuine chatty conversation. So I appreciated that on a personal level. So, but here's the thing. Brisker studies film. You know, that's the other part of this. I remember we asked him what he was doing during his by week. And I believe it was

watching Lions film. Like he or the next opponent maybe who the Bears had at the time. He's a film guy. Like he likes, he talks about it. He talks about watching film. He talks about studying it. And when he says it, first of all, no lies detected. And then secondly, yeah, you're calling out your coaching staff, but you're also the one who has to execute it. So there's that part too. And the Bears were, they looked like they were on skates for a lot of that game. And then Amon Ross St. Brown's mocking them with the first down celebration.

Amon Rao St. Brown in that game, 11 catches for 139 damn yards. I am pretty sure, pretty sure that Ben Johnson is still mad about that game. Oh, well, both of them, man, the 50 Burger, and then they didn't get revenge. in the second game. As far... Hey there, I'm Kendra Adachi and my show, The Lazy Genius Podcast,

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and permission slips to do what makes sense for you. New episodes drop every Monday. Follow and listen to the Lazy Genius podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Because the words, let's go back to September 16th. When Blake on Twitter at OT7 underscore Blake said, they got to let at Jaquan Brisker get up on the LOS

is in the line of scrimmage and playing that backfield. DA got to take the chains off a nine. And then Jaquan Brisker replies and says, Fax, use me. Yeah. Yeah, you know what? I'm so glad you brought up to social media. part of this. I'm talking about things he said, but through the years, there's been some very

direct quotes from him and some things that you have to try the passive-aggressive things he got what? Where is Jaquan Brisker trying to say? You have to unlock me. Unlock me. It's basically what he said. Five more buttes for that. At some point, the samples will have been switched. Switch the samples. Does Wayne Larvie have a thought on any of the outgoing free agents? until there is something with Andrew Billings. Like, nothing has occurred. Is the Ed Block Courage Award winner? Of course he is.

He's making cracks in the sidewalk as he walks. How dare you? Makes me really mad to hear that kind of stuff. Well, we'll see what happens with Andrew Billings. Good for him. He wins the Ed Block Courage Award out at Hallis Hall. And sounds like he is comfortable in his... Don't worry about Andrew Billings.

He sounds like a guy who is good with whatever. I'm always worried about Andrew Billings. Don't worry about him. Don't worry about Danks. They're all fine. What about Danks? What about Billings? That's the new one about.

He's an apartment complex, this guy. Do you remember the picture of Andrew Billings catching passes on the, let's see who can, which lineman can catch passes day? And I was like, yes. Yes. I want to see this happen more than most things. Rumbling Bill! And then it didn't happen.

I was very sad. He wanted him to go Keith Trailer or Ted Washington. from the early Erlacker years. I needed an Andrew Billings trick play. Like I needed to breathe. Oh, man. And I'm still breathing, but I wanted the Andrew Billings trick play. Yeah, that would have been nice.

Who don't? Hey, it's not out of, well, he probably won't be back with the Bears, but it's not completely out of the question. I don't think he was a DA guy. I don't think the DA was big on Billings. I do wonder, though, if for some of these players, the Bears had already made a decision prior to even this season.

I agree. I agree. and that's what I wonder about Bayard. I do. Like, was their plan always, we're going to try if we can, we're going to target Kobe Bryant, or maybe there was even another younger safety that they had. They probably did have multiple guys in mind.

So it does make, I know they love Bayard. I don't know how serious they ever were about bringing Byard back, now that I think about it and relisten to everything. Well, the order of operations would dictate that Kobe Bryant signed first. Yeah, and that's why Kobe was, or Kobe. That's why Byard was like, hey, New England was my choice because he saw their, well, three years, $40 million, he ain't getting that from the Bears. So he might have been a little insulted too, or a little put off.

I don't have insulted is right word. Yeah. Well, in his point in his career, he would probably know that that wasn't the deal he was going to get. But I think there was a reason we all thought it was going to be two years at 10 million per. I think that that was out there for a reason. Yeah, I guess I oversaw. I did. I thought he would get two years with the Bears.

for a little bit because he was making about $8 million a year with the Bears so I thought maybe they would boost it give him $2, $20 million. I thought they would do that and I get the age thing, but I also always fall back. The man has never missed a game in his life and I know it happens quickly for all of us. All of a sudden you get older. It's spontaneous

so like you do have to bring that in. Yeah, yeah. God, I hope he's back a hondo next year. Rest up, TJ. Also, I want to bring this note up for next week. Do you have have a planner? Do you have a Palm Pilot? If so, join me, Leila Rahimi, this Thursday, March 19th, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Old Crow Smokehouse in Wrigleyville for the finals of Bud Light's official mini Hoops Mania. Hang out with Bud Light and the score as one Chicago winner gets to head to Las

Vegas for a chance at $10,000. That's Thursday starting at 7 at Old Crow in Wrigleyville. It is going to be a lot of fun. coming up next it is halftime and there was a war of words that went on in Los Angeles last night apparently between the Bulls

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