Grady Jarrett says the Chicago Bears’ Week 6 trip to Atlanta will be “interesting,” but the veteran defensive tackle has made it clear the homecoming is about more than emotion. After a Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Jarrett said the Bears need to reset quickly and respond in the right way.
The Bears were beaten 31-7, a result that left plenty of room for concern, but Jarrett insisted it did not shake his belief in what comes next. His message was simple: whatever happens, the defense has to be ready to answer.
Jarrett is focused on the response
“Shoot, however the game go, as a defender we got to be ready to respond,” Jarrett said. That mindset also shaped how he spoke about the defeat to Green Bay. Jarrett said the loss did not affect his confidence, and he stressed that the next opportunity matters more than dwelling on the last one.
“And for me, that’s just, I’m excited for the next opportunity. Let’s go, no matter what happened or how they got the ball, we got to go out there and get a stop. I’ve always been consistent like that. And the mindset to go out and stop them regardless. At the end of the day, you got to be ready to fight however you go,” he said.
That is the kind of language coaches like to hear after a setback. The Bears need stability, and Jarrett’s tone suggests he is approaching the next stretch with the right kind of clarity.
Why Atlanta makes this a different kind of week
Jarrett did not hide the significance of returning to Atlanta, where he spent earlier years of his career. “Interesting week going back to Atlanta for sure,” he said. He also acknowledged that people understand what the matchup means to him personally.
“Obviously, everybody kind of knows what that means to me. But … I think the thing I’m most excited about is going out there and competing, getting back on the right track and doing what we need to do,” Jarrett said.
That matters because this is not just a sentimental return. The Bears need performances that can help shape their identity, and Jarrett is one of the players expected to bring that edge on a consistent basis.
Ben Johnson sees signs of the old Jarrett
Ben Johnson has seen enough to believe Jarrett is moving closer to the level he showed earlier in his career with the Atlanta Falcons. Johnson said, “He’s really flashed some of those old tendencies that he had in Atlanta.”
Johnson also pointed to the injury recovery that interrupted that level before. “We saw a little bit of it in training camp a year ago, and then when things kind of spiraled with the knee, it never quite got back to where it was early on. So we feel more of that now this year,” he said.
For Johnson, Jarrett’s value goes beyond individual play. “He’s huge for that group in general. I think it’s a very close-knit room. (Defensive line coach Jeremy) Garrett does a great job with them. And yet I think Grady has a huge voice. They listen to him. He’s the first one jogging around drill to drill. He loves this game, and he’s going to continue to sink everything he’s got into these guys. … I think he’s playing at a higher level than what he showed last year,” Johnson said.
That is the bigger story here. If Jarrett keeps trending upward, the Bears get more than a veteran return narrative. They get a defensive tackle whose play can lift the group around him.
A broader recovery watch elsewhere
There was also a separate update on Micah Parsons, with Jonathan Jones reporting that a return could come in Week 9 against the Patriots. Parsons said people have questioned why he has not been back yet, but he explained that the issue is about more than the ACL itself.
“If the Super Bowl was this week, I’m playing in the Super Bowl,” Parsons said. He added that the process has to account for the wider chain of issues around the injury, saying the aim is to make sure everything is right before returning.
For the Bears, though, the immediate focus is simpler. Week 6 brings Atlanta, Jarrett is headed back to familiar ground, and Chicago need a sharper response after the Week 5 defeat. The next test will show whether that homecoming becomes a turning point or just another difficult week in a season that still needs direction.
