Safety Eddie Jackson made it back to the field before the Chicago Bears finished their offseason program. Until last week, Jackson hadn’t been able to practice with his teammates since getting hurt in Chicago’s 31-10 loss to the New York Jets on Nov. 27.

“It makes you more grateful,” Jackson said. “It makes you more grateful for football. It just teaches you not to take things for granted. I’ve been injured before, so I kind of know how it feels to be away from the team. But it just makes you grateful for the little things – being able to go out there and practice, being able to go out there and run and just give it all you got.”

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A foot injury caused Jackson to miss the final five games of the 2022 NFL season, and his recovery kept him out of the offseason field work until June 7. The former Alabama standout practiced with his teammates twice last week and during the three mandatory minicamp sessions this week that concluded the Bears’ offseason work.

“It was huge,” Jackson said on Tuesday. “That was the goal – to get back in time for vet minicamp. Just to be out there with the guys to get that chemistry back. We got a lot of new faces, especially on the defensive side of the ball, so just want to go out there and be able to build that chemistry early. …

“I haven’t had time off, no vacation time. I’ve been here since the injury. Me, (wide receiver and former Gadsden City High School star Darnell) Mooney, (linebacker) Jack Sanborn, we all been in here grinding, sticking it out with each other. Jack came back first, and it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I got to hurry up.’ And now Mooney’s feeding off me coming back. Just coming in putting the extra time in and just staying focused on trying to get back with the team.”

The Bears lost the game in which Jackson got hurt as well as their remaining five contests to finish at 3-14 in 2022 to set a franchise record for single-season losses. Chicago will be leaning on Jackson in an otherwise young secondary as the Bears seek a better showing in 2023.

“He’s been a true pro,” Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said. “He works his tail off. He’s worked his way back into position from that injury, and it wasn’t easy. But his love of football helped him to do it. It’s infectious, the way he works and the experience he brings to the table for our entire secondary, because we have a pretty young secondary now, and he’s that one guy in there that has that experience and brings that know-how – what to do, how to do it – to our room there, so really love where Eddie is right now.”

Five other defensive backs played at least 42 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps last season. Three were rookies, and two were third-year players. All five return for 2023.

Before getting hurt, Jackson was playing more like the all-star he was in 2018 and 2019. In his first season in Eberflus’ defensive playbook, Jackson had four interceptions and led the team with 80 tackles when he went down.

“I got to lead the right way,” Jackson said. “I got to lead by example, go out there and play the best ball that I can and go out there and make plays. We got a young team, and I just feel like a lot of those guys, they look at me, especially in the secondary – how I act, how I perform. I feel like we feed off that; we feed off one other, so going out there and just doing my best, it’s huge. It’s Year 7 for me, so it’s no more years to waste. Every year, I want to come out and improve and get better and better.”

During the offseason, Chicago added 12 veteran players via free agency or trade as well as 10 draft picks, including second-round cornerback Tyrique Stevenson from Miami (Fla.)

Jackson said he could tell the difference between the 2022 Bears and the 2023 Bears already.

“It’s definitely different,” Jackson said. “It’s high energy. The guys love football. When you get a group of guys like that that really love and really care about football, they’re going to go out there and lay it on the line for one another. You guys probably can feel it just going out there to practice and just see the energy. We get a turnover, you knock a ball down, we scoop a ball up, the energy is just so intense out there right now. You get a bunch of guys like that, you’re going to create something special.

“Like I said, we got a lot of young guys, and they’re doing great. They’re coming in foot on the pedal. They’re going all out. You got a team like that, something special’s going to happen. We just got to continue to fill in those little pieces, continue to work, keep our head down and come out here and make plays.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.