Former Kansas defensive end Austin Booker put on a clinic in the Bears first preseason game of the year, Booker compiled a monster three sacks, including a strip-sack against former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Austin Booker has his 3rd sack which leads to a takeaway!
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025
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Booker finished the night with a monster three sacks including the aforementioned takeaway, in a game that saw him compile six total tackles with four of them being solo.
The Bears and the Dolphins tied the matchup 24-24 with the preseason not allotting for overtime.
Last season was Booker's first in the league, where he clipped 21 tackles and 1.5 sacks as the Bears finished Booker's debut season with a 5-12 record under rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Three times in 2024 did Booker claim three tackles, with his sack coming in a 36-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in early October, the second-to-last win of Chicago's season.
Over the offseason, the Bears hired new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who took on the New Orleans Saints coaching job over the last two seasons, but with Allen in his new role working with Booker, the former Jayhawk certainly made his mark in game No.1.
In Booker's sole year at Kansas, the former Minnesota Gopher totaled 56 tackles, with 12 tackles for loss, eating up as many as eight sacks with two forced fumbles. Twice in 2023, Booker marked six tackles in what was the best of Lance Leipold's career at Kansas, as Leipold totaled a 9-4 record, which saw Kansas climb to its first nine-win season since 2007 with Mark Mangino.
Booker cemented himself as an elite defensive lineman in the Big 12 by earning First Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, AP, PFF) honors, along with Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Prior to joining the Jayhawks, Booker failed to make much of an impact in the Big 10. With the Golden Gophers, Booker accumulated two tackles.