Bears place LB Roquan Smith on IR, sign LB Devante Bond to active roster

The Chicago Bears have made it official: Linebacker Roquan Smith has been placed on injured reserve, which effectively ends his sophomore season.

Smith suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the first quarter of Thursday’s win over the Cowboys. Bears coach Matt Nagy announced Smith’s injury Monday and confirmed he’d miss the remainder of the season.

#Bears roster moves:
We have placed LB Roquan Smith on Injured Reserve (IR) and have signed LB Devante Bond to the active roster. We also have released practice squad LB Dewayne Hendrix and have signed DB Xavier Crawford to the practice squad.

— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) December 9, 2019

It’s disappointing because Smith was playing some of his best ball in the last month, where he recorded at least 10 tackles in four of five games, including a career-high 16 stops against Detroit on Thanksgiving.

With Smith sent to IR, the Bears have promoted linebacker Devante Bond to the active roster. Bond, a sixth-round pick by the Buccaneers in 2016, appeared in four games for Tampa Bay this season before the waived him Oct. 16. He later served a four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy

Bond has appeared in 29 games with six starts in three seasons, playing mostly on special teams and as a reserve.

The Bears also released practice squad linebacker Dewayne Hendrix and signed defensive back Xavier Crawford to the practice squad in his place.