Chicago Fire preview: What’s next for Matt Casey in Chicago Fire season 11?

Chicago Fire season 10 proved to be a game-changing season for Captain Matt Casey, one that forever altered the DNA of Firehouse 51.

Early in season 10, Casey gets a visit from Griffin Darden, the son of Casey’s friend and former colleague Andy Darden who died in a fire back in season 1. While Casey is at first thrilled to see Griffin after all these years, it quickly becomes clear to him that things aren’t going well for Griffin and his younger brother, Ben.

As Casey learns, Griffin’s mother has landed back behind bars following another DUI and is going away for a few years this time around. With their mother in jail, Ben is spinning out and Griffin is doing everything he can just to keep his head above water.

Hoping to help, Casey makes a trip out to Portland to visit the brothers which is when he discovers that without a guardian to take care of them, the boys are likely to be split up and put in separate foster homes. Seeing that the boys clearly need him now more than ever, Casey decides to move to Portland to take care of the Darden brothers as he did back in the day when they were younger.

In moving away, Casey left the city of Chicago behind in a storyline used to explain the exit of Jesse Spencer after 10 seasons. While Spencer left the series following its 200th episode, the show kept Casey’s presence alive in the episodes that followed through regular updates from Brett. She even left town for a few weeks to visit Casey off-screen, before he returned with her to Chicago for Severide’s wedding.

Sadly, his return didn’t quite end on the highest of notes as his and Brett’s relationship ended up on the rocks with it hinted that the two might be pressing pause due to Casey’s decision to remain in Portland.

Will Matt Casey be in Chicago Fire season 11?

Heading into season 11, it has not been confirmed whether Jesse Spencer will return as Matt Casey but we do know he won’t be returning as a series regular or in a recurring role. It is, however, possible that Spencer might return for yet another guest appearance in the season ahead as he did in the season 10 finale… but that’s looking unlikely.

The season 10 finale seemed to hint that Brett and Casey are struggling with making their long-distance relationship work and are prepared to take a pause to sort things out. It’s understandable as Casey has made a life for himself in Portland, while Brett isn’t about to uproot her life in Chicago to move to a new city for a relationship as she’s done in the past.

Watch One Chicago on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

It’s possible that the season might begin with Casey and Brett on pause, but perhaps he’ll make a return sometime around the midseason mark to make a grand gesture and find a way to make their long-distance relationship work.

There is also a possibility he could make an appearance to provide fans with closure if the writers choose to bring the couple’s relationship to an end — after all, Monica Raymund’s last appearance was used to provide closure to Casey and Dawson’s relationship.

One thing that’s certain is that Casey doesn’t seem to have any plans to return to Chicago anytime soon, so it should be interesting to see how or if the writers continue to keep his presence alive on the show in season 11.

For the latest Chicago Fire season 11 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.