Chicago Bears: 3 Must-target safeties in second waive of free agency

Tony Jefferson

This move would be absolutely fantastic. Tony Jefferson is coming off a nasty knee injury. That said, it took place last October and Jefferson has had plenty of time to heal. With the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are struggling to take chances on players who are coming off an injury, but Jefferson is one guy I would take a chance on anyway. Plus it seems he’s interested in coming to Chicago.

I am going to ignore his advanced stats last season. I know we should not do that, but I just find that he is a better player than what the stats show. In 2019, Jefferson let up two touchdowns and a horrid quarterback rating of 141.4 while being targeted. This took place on only 14 targets though. From a completion percentage, Jefferson only allowed 57.1 percent of the passes to be caught when coming in his direction. Therefore, the numbers are both good and bad.

Jefferson would fit in nicely next to Eddie Jackson. He does a good job as a strong safety but is also a decent enough defender when called upon to play more of a free safety role. Jefferson’s best season took place with the Cardinals in 2016. He recorded just shy of 100 combined tackles (78 solos). He has averaged nearly seven tackles per game throughout his career. Jefferson would fit in nicely in Chuck Pagano’s aggressive defense too. He has 8.5 sacks on his career.

Now for my top choice.