The Chicago Bears gave up too soon on Corey Graham
Who remembers Corey Graham? He isn't a household name, but he deserves more respect than he receives. Graham was better known as a special teams guy in Chicago, but he contributed enough defensively to earn decent playing time. Corey Graham was a fifth-round draft pick in 2007. He played five years for Chicago and came away with four interceptions during that span. Graham earned a Pro Bowl nod with the Bears in 2011 as a special teams ace but wasn't retained in 2012.
Graham moved onto Baltimore where he was able to become a regular on their defense. He started eight games that first season and finished with 60 combined tackles and two interceptions. The next year with Baltimore, Graham started only five games but finished with four interceptions and 74 tackles. He moved onto Buffalo for three seasons. He was the full-time starter for two seasons and finished with 127 combined tackles in 2015 and another 87 in 2016.
Chicago had decent corners in Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings, but it would have been nice to see Graham retained. He could have helped with the transition when Charles Tillman left to play for the Panthers in 2015. Graham was highly underrated.