Chicago PD: Ruzek missing in action in new season 9 photos

The first images from the Chicago PD season 9 premiere arrived last week and quickly offered up a lot of teasers about the upcoming season of NBC’s hit crime drama. However, there was one elephant in the room that hasn’t yet been addressed: the surprising absence of Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger).

Across the batch of the new season 9 premiere images, each member of the Intelligence Unit is present and accounted for in some way with the only two exceptions being Ruzek and Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati).

While we anticipated the show might keep us in the dark on Burgess’s status given her fate was left up in the air in the season 8 finale and saw NBC take a similar approach in avoiding spoilers within the first photos from Chicago Fire season 10, the lack of Ruzek in the photos definitely creates a wave of questions as to why he’s MIA.

Is Patrick John Flueger leaving Chicago PD?

Of course, the first question that many are sure to jump to is whether Ruzek’s absence in the premiere photos is a hint that Patrick John Flueger is leaving the show. While it is puzzling that he isn’t featured within any of the premiere photos, there have been no reports of Flueger leaving the show as it’s fully expected he’ll be back in action again for season 9.

What is more likely is that his absence from the season 9 premiere photos is a direct result of his premiere storyline being connected to Burgess and her recovery.

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As we saw in the season 8 finale, emotions were running high for Ruzek after Burgess went missing and we imagine he’s going to be staying close to her side as she recovers. It also seems likely that Voight (Jason Beghe) might bench him while the team works to find the individual responsible for Burgess’s abduction in recognizing that it’s a bit too personal for him.

Because NBC is looking to keep fans in the dark as to what’s next for Burgess after her brush with death in the finale, it looks like we’ll have to wait until the season 9 premiere on Sept. 22 to find see just what awaits both Ruzek and Burgess in the opening hour of the season!

For the latest Chicago PD season 9 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.