Who will play cornerback for Chicago Bears?

As the season winds down the Chicago Bears are starting to lose the war on attrition. The biggest issue is at cornerback. They came into the season shorthanded and it has started to lose plenty of names in recent weeks. A few weeks ago, the team lost Duke Shelley for the season.

Then this week, they lost Xavier Crawford to a concussion, and now Artie Burns is on the COVID-19 list. The team tried to use DeAndre Houston-Carson to replace Crawford in the slot when he went down.

It resulted in the Bears moving Eddie Jackson into the slot and playing Tashaun Gipson and Deon Bush at safety. The Chicago Bears are unlikely to get Crawford back, so who will play the slot?

Who will play the slot for Chicago Bears

The Bears appear to have two options. They can stick with Eddie Jackson in the slot, and keep Bush and Gipson at safety. Of the three, Jackson is the best in coverage and has the quickest feet. The other two would not drop off as much at safety, but neither would be able to handle the slot.

Still, you are moving a starting free safety and someone who would only play slot as an emergency into the slot as a starting role. With a week to practice, you would think they could find a better option.

Still, the other option is Marqui Christian. Christian got plenty of work week one, and Cooper Kupp took his lunch. To be fair, in week one we did not know that Kupp would be the NFL’s top wideout, so perhaps we can forgive the poor performance.

Still, the argument from there is whether Jackson, Bush, and Gipson are a better trio than Jackson, Gipson, and Christian.

Christian may be better in the slot than all three, but those three being able to move around may be a better overall group.

Is Kindle Vildor ready for the outside?

On the outside, Burns took the job from Vildor but will be a tight decision as he is on the COVID list. The issue is that without Burns, they really have no other option than to go right back to Kindle Vildor.

Jaylon Johnson is set to follow Justin Jefferson, which would mean that Vildor gets KJ Osborn. Still, Osborn scored against Pittsburgh and has been a tough watch this season. His name value is not high, but Vildor struggled against Sammy Watkins and Tyler Huntley, so Kirk Cousins to Osborn is on the table.