Bears News: Shemar Turner on "playing with a fire" mindset

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - 5 hours ago

CHICAGO - Chicago’s first defensive pick of the 2025 NFL Draft was defensive lineman Shemar Turner out of Texas A&M. He was selected with the No. 62 overall pick, which was acquired through a trade with the Buffalo Bills.

Turner is an energetic, edgy player that has a fire burning inside him on and off the field.

“Playing with an edge, being an edgy guy, playing with fire like that is always good. But, you got to know how to control it and you can’t let it control you. So, I feel like keeping it at a certain level, right on the line. I can stay right on the line, but don’t cross it and I (will) have a great career,” Turner said. “To be, you can’t be a football player, especially a d-lineman (without) putting your nose in there, putting your hand in the dirt … You always got to play with a little fire, with a little edge. I feel like that’s what makes football exciting too. Get to bounce around, get your guys bounced up.”

His last two seasons at Texas A&M were strong despite the coaching changes and amount of players that left the program after the 2023 season when their coach was fired mid-season. In 2023, Turner recorded 10.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in addition to blocking two kicks. His numbers were not as high in 2024 as still had 36 total tackles and a forced fumble.

However, this can be attributed to him switching positions from an edge rusher to an interior defensive lineman, a move that was done to increase his versatility and draft stock.

“Really it was to get me drafted as high as I could possibly go, especially knowing that I could play anywhere on the line,” Turner said. “The biggest transition was really playing double teams and pass rushing in there. Everything happens so much quicker, guys on you so much faster.”

During the offseason, Chicago acquired a seasoned veteran interior defensive lineman, Grady Jarrett. Jarrett has already started working with Chicago’s young defensive linemen to improve the defense overall.

Now, Turner is yet another young defensive player who can learn from Jarrett and Turner is all for it as he is ready to be a sponge and learn from veterans like Jarrett.

“Just being a sponge, not being too good to learn from those guys because you can learn something from all them guys (like Grady Jarrett and Andrew Billings). They got great vets and they got a great (player in Gervon Dexter),” Turner said. “Being a sponge as soon as I walk in, not thinking I’m too good for anything they’re saying or doing and coming in and soaking up everything from those guys man and what I can bring is that fire. When I’m on the field, everybody going to feel it and I feel like I can make the defense a lot better, just bouncing around, making plays, watching other guys make plays, celebrate with the guys, turn up. It’s going to be good in Chicago.”