After Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker suffered his third concussion in as many seasons in Week 5, the expectation was that he’d return at some point during the season. But that didn’t happen and the former second-round pick wound up missing 12 games and didn’t return.

Last week during mandatory minicamp, Brisker revealed there were several times that he believed he would return to action but that never came to fruition.

In Brisker’s absence, there was a noticeable missing force for the defense that struggled in the second half of the season. But as the missed games continued to add up, he still expected to return to action. Unfortunately, he couldn’t overcome the hurdles to rejoin his teammates on the field.

“To be honest, my mom asked me every single day, ‘Are you okay?’ I told her I’m about to beplaying this week,” Brisker said. “I really thought I was fine, to be honest. It was just a hard process, a hard thing.Obviously, I wanted to be out there to play football, but I just couldn’t. I physically couldn’t. But every day, told my mother that I will be playing this game. Every time I came here, I just couldn’t get past certain processes.”

It says plenty about Brisker’s dedication and passion to try and get back on the field last season, but a credit to the team for getting him healthy and not rushing him back. Now, Brisker has been cleared and is ready to return to one of the league’s best secondaries alongside running mate Kevin Byard, where they’ll look to get the team back to an impactful unit that will make life tough on opposing offenses.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears’ Jaquan Brisker believed he’d return multiple times last year