Kevin Toliver was playing for a job all offseason. He officially earned one with the Chicago Bears by making their 53-man roster
Coming into training camp we had thought that Marcus Cooper and Kevin Toliver would have been fighting for one last roster spot. As it turns out, the Chicago Bears let go of Cre’Von LeBlanc, freeing up a roster spot to carry both.
This is great news for Kevin Toliver. Toliver was the star of the UDFA class as a former prized recruit from LSU. Toliver had some issues with the team and off of the field that caused him to slide down draft boards and find himself undrafted.
However, there is no doubt about it, Toliver can play. He started to show that over the spring with a strong OTA session. Toliver was looking to turn that into momentum entering training camp, but was injured early on into those sessions.
It caused him to the miss the Chicago Bears first two preseason games. Toliver is a situation where the Bears are happy that they had an extra game, though. He came back in a minimal role in the third game but saw seriously playing time in the last two games.
What he put on tape was enough for the Chicago Bears to invest in. The team moved Marcus Cooper to the slot at times in the preseason, so he would likely slot into the backup role with LeBlanc gone. This will give Toliver a chance to grow into a the outside role.
Unlike Ryan Nall, Kevin Toliver is too talented to clear through waivers. A team will take a chance on him. The Chicago Bears were wise to hang onto the upside that they have already invested in with Toliver. If they can get a future starter out of the UDFA, it would be a huge win.