Who is new Chicago Bears Fullback Tyler Clutts?
Who the hell is Tyler Clutts? When the Bears dumped Will Ta’ufo’ou and signed him off the Cleveland Browns practice squad, you had to be asking yourself that question. After watching his performance in Sunday’s 30-12 win over the Falcons, you should get to know him a little better.
Clutts is a journeyman fullback, coming to the Bears through the Browns practice squad. See, those preseason games can be valuable. Here’s Brad Biggs on Clutts:
"The Bears found out about him in the preseason finale. He excelled during preseason for new Cleveland Browns special teams coach Chris Tabor, who was with the Bears the previous three seasons. Tabor hoped to keep Clutts but he was among Cleveland’s final cuts and was added to the practice squad. He had one special teams tackle vs. the Bears and was difficult to block. The Bears found out about him quickly.The more the Bears looked at Clutts after final cuts, the more they liked him. He’s bigger than the fullback he replaced Will Ta’ufo’ou and he’s faster, giving him more versatility on special teams."
He was not only a contributor on Special Teams, but he was a key cog in the two biggest Bears plays on Sunday. Look for #44 throwing some key blocks downfield on Matt Forte’s 56 yard touchdown gallop.
Watch Clutts come up at the end of the long Devin Hester catch and run and along with Kahlil Bell help seal the edge with a great block, giving Hester a shot at the endzone.
Still not sure how Hester doesn’t get in on that play.
Clutts was a 4 year letterman for Fresno State as a defensive end from 2004-2007 before bouncing around the CFL, AFL and UFL before catching on the Browns. It’s so Bears to find a defensive end turned fullback. They have a college running back who turned into a pretty good defensive tackle – Henry Melton.
As Biggs writes, Clutts is pretty intense:
"Every player has a different way of getting ready for a game. For new fullback Tyler Clutts, it involves blowing off some steam.Clutts was in the workout room at the downtown hotel the team stays at the night before games Sunday morning getting a workout in at 6:30 a.m. when he encountered one of the assistant coaches. Yes, 5 1/2 hours before playing in the first NFL game of his career, the guy who has bounced around the circuit of developmental football leagues was going full bore. Must not have been able to sleep."
Bears fans love try hard white guys so this guy is destined to become a folk hero around here. If he can keep up the performance and effort from Sunday, NFL fans will all get to know him as Tyler Clutts Cargo. Welcome aboard and…