Montez Sweat Returns to Bears After Two-Game PED Suspension

Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat returned to practice this week after completing a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy. The 30-year-old said he unintentionally took a banned substance and declined to specify what it was, emphasizing that the error was his own responsibility and not attributable to the Bears' nutritional or training staff.

Sweat addressed the suspension publicly for the first time on Tuesday, describing the situation as "devastating" but expressing commitment to moving forward. "I never want to cheat the game, and I would never do it intentionally," he said. "It's definitely something I've got to live with for my career." He acknowledged the difficulty of facing coach Ben Johnson after the violation, noting that confronting leadership after "doing something detrimental like that to the team" required taking responsibility and pushing ahead.

The suspension carried significant financial consequences. Sweat forfeited $2.3 million in base salary for the two missed games. More substantially, the violation voided his remaining guaranteed money for 2026 and all future guaranteed compensation in 2027 ($12.7 million and $21 million respectively). He signed a four-year, $98 million contract extension after his 2023 trade to Chicago from Washington. He did not appeal the suspension and said he had no plans to make specific changes to his regimen, intending instead to return to his regular routine.

The Bears won both games Sweat missed—against Atlanta and New England—with reinforcements filling his role in the pass-rush rotation. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen increased blitz packages, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson recorded four sacks across the two contests. Sweat praised the next-man-up mentality, saying the team "didn't miss a beat." He is scheduled to return for Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. Through five games this season, Sweat has recorded two sacks and seven tackles, putting him on pace for approximately six sacks for the year—well below his 10-sack performance in 2025.