A roster spot is wide open for the taking for Chicago Bears cornerback Kevin Toliver. Can he get on the field and prove he belongs?
A training camp battle between Kevin Toliver and Marcus Cooper has seemingly been idle since the two have arrived at camp. Cooper came in as the leader in the clubhouse to hold down the backup outside cornerback job for the Chicago Bears. However, Toliver is the talented, young UDFA challenger, who had a chance to take the spot from the veteran.
One thing that we have learned in the first two preseason games is that Marcus Cooper may not be long for this roster. He got exposed early into the Chicago Bears second game on the outside and in the slot.
However, Toliver shined early into camp and has been in and out of practice sessions with an injury since then. The concerns held Toliver out of the Hall of Fame game. While he was healthy to go in Week One of the preseason, it was in a limited role. Based on the TV angles, he played in just two snaps on defense.
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Doran Grant, John Franklin, and Michael Joseph all saw snaps over Toliver. Those three deserve the snaps, Toliver is an unproven UDFA who has not been on the field to prove his value over these players. Still, with no offense to those three, Toliver seems as though the only legitimate candidate to unseat Cooper on the current roster based on raw talent.
That is what makes this a critical Week Two for Toliver. Toliver dipped his toes into NFL action and got back to practice. Now it is time to climb the depth chart. With a healthy week of practice, and a banged up Prince Amukamara, there is a chance that Toliver could run with the second team at cornerback, with either Grant or Joseph across from him. That should mean a look from about the second quarter or late first into the second half.
If Toliver can get those snaps and show he is capable of a more significant workload, he is in the mix for a role in the Week Three gameplan. That will be his last chance to unseat Cooper.
Based on the way Cooper has played so far, there is as good of a chance that the Chicago Bears go outside of the organization to find a backup outside player. However, these next two weeks are going to be the ultimate chance for Toliver to make noise for the 53-man roster. It starts with a strong showing on Saturday.