Chicago Bears: 5 defensive free agents worth pursuing
By Ryan Heckman
Trumaine Johnson
As I said earlier, if the Chicago Bears want to continue building their defense the way they have been, cornerback needs to be a priority. Hopefully the front office can work something out with Fuller before he hits the open market. Then, it is all about finding someone to pair him up with.
That guy could very well be Trumaine Johnson. In the last seven years, Johnson ranks as the fourth-best cover corner in terms of passer rating allowed.
Lowest passer rating when throwing into a cornerbacks coverage since 2011(min. 2000 coverage snaps)
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) November 10, 2017
1.Richard Sherman-53.0
2.Casey Hayward-67.2
3.Darrelle Revis-69.2
4.Trumaine Johnson-71.9
5.Chris Harris-73.1
Johnson made $16 million last year and will likely seek a big contract in March. While he may not necessarily deserve quite that type of money on a per-year basis, the Bears might have to shell out the cash if they want to bolster their secondary that bad.
If the Bears somehow do not retain Fuller, Johnson then becomes priority number one in free agency. There is no way Pace can hand Fangio a defense without one of those two.
Johnson, a former third round pick in 2012, has 18 career interceptions. The Bears have been in the bottom of the league in turnovers for a couple of years now, so Johnson’s knack for the football would be fully welcomed.
He has also defended 67 passes and scored three touchdowns in his six year career.
If Pace wants to do his defensive coordinator any favors this offseason, this would be a guy to secure no matter how it gets done.