Bears cornerbacks performed at a high level in 2017, right up there with the defensive line and running backs as a top position unit.
Now, with less than one month before the league year begins, it’s the team’s biggest need.
Sure, the Bears can bring back their three starters from last season, add a veteran for depth, and use a draft pick on a cover man for the future, making the position pretty much unchanged when the 2018 season begins, but until we see Ryan Pace’s plan, the cornerback position has big question marks
Fortunately for Pace, Matt Nagy and Vic Fangio, the Bears have a lot of options. It’s a deep free-agent class, including and Prince Amukamara. The draft will also feature starter-caliber players — a few mocks have already slotted Ohio State’s Denzel Ward to the Bears at No. 8, for example.
We’ve got a lot to … cover … at this position, so let’s get to it.
Under contract for 2018: Marcus Cooper, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Doran Grant, Jonathon Mincy
Cooper is an important domino. Signed to a three-year, $16 million contract last offseason, Cooper lost his starting job and appeared only in dime packages and on special teams in the second half of the season. The Bears would take a hit of only $1 million in dead cap space in 2018 if they cut him. Per Spotrac, $2 million of his 2018 salary fully guarantees on March 16, the third day of the league year.
Pace may wait until then to decide, considering Cooper is the best and most experienced corner the team currently has under contract, even though he didn’t come close to showing the ball skills he had in Arizona in ’16 (11 passes defensed, four interceptions). Pace believed he had signed an ascending player in Cooper, who played wide receiver in college and was coming off a breakout season. Do the Bears think Cooper can still be a contributing player, someone who can compete to start? The $2 million trigger on March 16 means a decision should come within a month.
LeBlanc, who led the team in passes defensed in ’16 as an undrafted rookie, filled in when was injured. He’s a solid top reserve who can contribute on special teams. Grant and Mincy are practice-squad players.
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