Chicago PD: Jesse Lee Soffer shares goodbye message with fans

Halstead is gone, and it was a lot tougher to watch than we thought. The beloved Chicago PD character turned in his badge at the end of season 10, episode 3, and decided to leave the city in an effort to regain his sense of right and wrong.

The sting of his departure is going to linger throughout the rest of the season, but the man behind the character, Jesse Lee Soffer, decided to ease the pain of PD fans by sharing some kind words on Twitter.

Here’s what the actor had to say.

Will Jay Halstead come back to Chicago PD?

Soffer, who had previously issued a statement confirming his exit, thanked fans for all of their support and adoration throughout the years. He played Halstead for a decade straight, and made it clear that he loved every second of it.

“For anyone that’s ever been a Halstead fan, I just want you to know that I’m grateful”, he wrote. “Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’m just grateful… If I could like every single tweet I would. I appreciate all the love. It means so much to me. Thank you ❤️.”

The latter part of the message came in a separate tweet, and was no doubt in response to the outpouring of compilation videos and bittersweet messages that were flooding the One Chicago timeline after the episode aired.

On the bright side, Halstead wasn’t killed onscreen, and he assured Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) that he will be back in eight months. If the show makes good on this promise, it means we will get to see both Halstead and Soffer back on the streets of Chicago, at least in a cameo role.

It’s not going to make the drama surrounding his exit easier to deal with, but at least fans can take solace in the fact that we (probably) haven’t seen the last of the character.

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.