Chicago Bears: Bargain free agents who could still be upgrades for 2020

One of these corners should be added by the Chicago Bears

Here’s the thing. When it comes to the cornerback position, there are still some very good options available. I will be the first to tell you I loved the Jaylon Johnson draft pick by Ryan Pace. Johnson was a first-round talent who fell into the second round because of injury history. The thing is, just like adding Cordy Glenn to the offensive line competition, signing one of these free agents would be the best move. Some could push Johnson for a starting spot or simply be competition.

Trumaine Johnson

First up is Trumaine Johnson. Johnson is getting up there in age, but he has had a solid career. At the age of 30. In 2019, he only started in five games but came away with one interception on 27 targets. This was not a great season for Johnson by any means as he allowed 74.1 percent of the passes coming in his direction to be completed. That said, in 2018 he only allowed 59.7 percent while starting 10 games and seeing 72 targets. He also grabbed four interceptions that year.

Brandon Carr

What about bringing in this older vet to help teach Jaylon Johnson a few things? Brandon Carr has started every game during his 12-year career. That is pretty amazing and something I did not know about him until now. He might not like being a “backup”, but at 34 years old, he might not find many opportunities.

In 2019, Carr only allowed 54.7 percent of his targeted passes (64) to be completed. In 2018 that number was only 50 percent and he saw a total of 92 targets that year. His one downfall last year was giving up five touchdowns, but that seems more of an outlier. Carr has intercepted only 21 passes over 12 years but has averaged 11.5 pass deflections. He’d make a great veteran presence for the likes of Johnson and even Kindle Vildor.

Darqueze Dennard

Most fans would be wanting the Chicago Bears to sign Dre Kirkpatrick over Darqueze Dennard. However, Dennard has been better than Kirkpatrick the last few years. Dennard is another former first-round pick and although he does not make game-changing plays, he brings a level of consistency needed for a good defense.

Over his six-year career, Dennard only has three interceptions. However, if we look at his advanced stats, he has only given up one touchdown in both 2019 and 2018. Although he allowed 71 percent of the passes thrown in his direction in 2018 to be completed, that number dropped to only 48.6 percent last year. Dennard is another inexpensive, competition option who brings more to the depth of the position than the likes of Kevin Toliver.

Final Thoughts: Adding any of these four would be an upgrade to a pretty talented roster on paper. If things click, we could see a repeat of 2018. If not, the team will likely find itself in the 7-9 to 9-7 range and probably not sniffing a playoff spot.