4 Bargain cornerbacks Chicago Bears must still consider in free agency

Dre Kirkpatrick

Ryan Pace seems to be all-in on the 2020 season. He has signed some older veterans this season — something he has stayed away from for the most part over the last couple of years. To add to this plan of attack, Pace should consider bringing in another former first-round pick. Dre Kirkpatrick was released by the Bengals this offseason. He is coming off a disappointing season and an injury that limited him to only six games. The Chicago Bears should give him a shot though.

When healthy, Kirkpatrick is a pretty solid corner. He is currently 30 years old and will be 31 in late October. Add in his injury history over the years and he should come relatively cheap later in free agency. Kirkpatrick is not my first choice, but I think he is the type of player who could help this team. The Chicago Bears need to be cautious of his knee injury, but on a cheap, one-year deal he could be worth it.

In six games last year, Kirkpatrick struggled. He allowed a quarterback rating of 122.5 when targets came his way. This was due to letting up three touchdowns and a 63.3 percent completion percentage on 30 targets.

However, if we go back to 2018 we can see that Kirkpatrick had a very strong season. He was targeted 72 times and only allowed 36 completions. That is a 50 percent completion percentage. He also only allowed two touchdowns while being targeted. This was good for an 82.2 quarterback rating for quarterbacks when throwing in his direction.

Although he played on the opposite side of the football, Bill Lazor should at least have a connection with Kirkpatrick as he was the Offensive Coordinator for the Bengals in 2017 and 2018. This again would be another one-year, prove-it deal for the Chicago Bears.