The Chicago Bears claimed Josh Blackwell, a cornerback from the Philadelphia Eagles. Blackwell is a rookie UDFA who played his college football at Duke. The team waived Duke Shelly as a move that can be looked at as one-for-one as a cornerback went out the door and a new one came in.
It is also easy to compare the two because they are both slot cornerbacks. Blackwell played both outsides and in the slot at Duke, but he spent almost all of his snaps in the slot for the Eagles, and considering slot cornerback Duke Shelley is out the door for him, it can be assumed that he will play in the slot.
The Chicago Bears are hoping that they found a gem with Blackwell. He missed some time with an injury in 2019 and tore his meniscus in 2020. He bounced back in 2021, but his first season off of a torn ligament did not get him drafted.
Still, Blackwell was able to show scouts that he was athletic enough to make the NFL and that his past of injuries is not holding him back. He tested as a much better athlete than Duke Shelley.
The reality is that while the team views him as an upgrade from Duke Shelley, he will likely be making the roster with the intention that he will play special teams.
Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson will start in two cornerback looks, but when they add a third it will likely be Kindle Vildor, with Gordon manning the slot.
So, Blackwell is essentially on the same wavelength as Jaylon Jones, a rookie UDFA from Ole Miss. Perhaps the team wanted to sign both, and could only get Jones, so now they have Blackwell to see the two compete up close.
Either way, Blackwell played 28 special teams snaps, and that is what is going to keep him active. He must be active for the next three weeks, or he will revert back to the team that waived him. Still, this is much more a move about the depth and the thought of bringing in a younger player than Duke Shelley, and someone who was not from the old regime and will buy into new things easier.