What adding Sterling Weatherford brings to Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears claimed Sterling Weatherford, a safety from the Indianapolis Colts. Weatherford is a rookie UDFA who went to Miami (OH). That means that he was a teammate of Chicago Bears rookie Dominique Robinson.

While Robinson was drafted, Weatherford was not. That is probably because Weatherford played safety at college, but was projected to be a linebacker in the NFL. Teams were not sure how he would fit, although he played some box snaps with the Red Hawks last year.

Still, when the Colts added him, it was all about making him a linebacker. He will play linebacker with the Chicago Bears as well, and you can tell that by the release of Caleb Johnson as a corresponding move. Essentially, Johnson was a UDFA last year, but from the Ryan Pace regime. Poles did not like what Pace was doing and saw a similar player, but one he had more interest in.

When you compare the two, they have very similar athletic profiles, and you can tell that Poles just prefer the upside of Weatherford over Johnson. With that in mind, you should not expect more from Weatherford than you would of Johnson.

Poles may see a bit of an upgrade, and down the line, the payoff could be substantial, but for now, his role will be what Johnson did last season. Still, Johnson was consistently active because of his special teams snaps.

The same thing is going to happen for Weatherford. Because the team claimed him, he will have to get an active helmet for the team to start the season. That is why he is a lock to start on special teams.

If they can get the coverage of a safety with the ability of a linebacker it is a big hit, but for now we are seeing an upgrade in small ways by adding Weatherford, a player they see fitting their scheme better than Caleb Johnson.