2 Chicago Bears cornerbacks get excellent opportunity to close season

The Chicago Bears decided to place cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor on the IR, ending their season. The vibe around both injuries is that they are both banged up enough that the decision is valid, but at the same time it may be a different conversation of playing through injury if the team were in contention.

With that in mind, it is clear the team is moving on to see what they have from the depth on the roster. Two Chicago Bears cornerbacks are going to legitimate chances now that Johnson and Vildor are out.

Chicago Bears will see a lot of Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell

With both of the cornerbacks injured throughout the year, we have already seen bits and pieces of UDFAs Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell. Now, they get an extended look for the final three weeks of the season.

Jaylon Jones is a UDFA they signed out of college, while Blackwell spent the summer with the Eagles before being claimed off of waivers. Blackwell has been one of the best options the team has on special teams, which has kept him active every week.

What will be interesting to note about Blackwell is that he has only played the slot. Most of his snaps came when Kyler Gordon was concussed. Blackwell profiles as a slot and does not have the size for the outside.

The Chicago Bears want Gordon to be a slot cornerback, but they also know that a valued trait he possesses is the ability to play inside and on the outside. So, between Blackwell and Gordon, it should be a no-brainer that Gordon will be playing outside throughout the game.

When they need two cornerbacks, it will be Gordon and Jones. Jones will be making his third start, but he has 374 defensive snaps, which is impressive for a UDFA rookie.

In about six games he has been used as the third cornerback to come in off of the bench. His rookie season has been more up and down than Blackwell, but that is probably just because he has had more chances to be exposed than Blackwell has.

Still, Jones has settled in and played well at times, showing flashes. That is all the team wants to see. Both Jones and Blackwell have shown flashes, and have contributed on special teams. That is what will keep UDFAs in the NFL for a long time.

Now, they both get a chance that many UDFAs do not, and that is legitimate work over the final three games. We will see if either can take advantage.