Cornerback still need for Chicago Bears, despite Desmond Trufant
The Chicago Bears signed Desmond Trufant to help ease the pain of releasing Kyle Fuller. However, that is exactly what the move is, it is a help, or rather a bandage for a wound that the Bears opened. It is not nearly a replacement and is certainly not close to an upgrade.
On paper, Desmond Trufant is a strong name, and it makes sense why the Chicago Bears would be interested. We have not seen the money yet, but the thought would be that big-name Trufant is much cheaper than Kyle Fuller. Still, while Trufant built up his name from excellent play over his career, there is a reason the team that drafted him ended up letting him go, and the team that signed him then let him go a year later.
Trufant saw his play decline in 2019, and with injuries on top of that, Atlanta had no choice but to move on from their former top corner. The Lions bit, and gave him a shot, but found fools gold.
Trufant dealt with injuries, but what is more worrisome is that they were scattered throughout the year, and not just one isolated injury.
In 2020 Trufant played Week one, then was inactive for two weeks. He played one game and was inactive for three after that. Finally, he played four games, before being placed on the IR. The issue was consistent hamstring issues, another huge red flag for a player who is now 31 years old and has a game built off of speed.
Trufant saw his speed take a hit in 2019 and the injuries have been constant for two straight seasons. As he now is over the hill for where NFL corners are considered in their prime, it is hard to expect his play to return to top form, let alone expect him to play eight games.
Perhaps the Chicago Bears draft a rookie and while Trufant starts a week or two, they slowly transition when he is ready. Perhaps that cornerback is Kindle Vildor. However, the Bears do have to realize that if they enter the season with Trufant, Vildor, Jaylon Johnson and Duke Shelley as their top four corners, that they are likely to see Vildor, Johnson, and Shelley as their top three for most of the season. Maybe Shelley and Vildor will take a step forward, but both struggled mightily last season.
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Desmond Trufant is a bandage and a small one at that. It is nice to know he is there, but he is not helping for a cut this serious. They are going to need to draft a cornerback yet again in 2021.