Chicago Bears Free Agency Position Preview: Cornerback

Last season, the Chicago Bears were middle of the pack when it came to defending the pass. As a whole, Chicago’s defense was atrocious, but that stemmed from lack of anything up front.

The Bears had a hard time generating a pass rush or any semblance of stopping the run, therefore it made things difficult on their secondary.

But, the secondary does look like it has a bright future going forward with young guys like Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson. Specifically, let’s focus on the cornerback spot before the Bears get set for free agency next month.

Cornerback isn’t as big of a position of need as it once was for the Chicago Bears, but adding one upgrade might make sense

Bears cornerbacks under contract for 2023:

Jaylon Johnson

Kyler Gordon

Kindle Vildor

Michael Ojemudia

Harrison Hand

Greg Stroman

Last season, Kindle Vildor actually stepped up and played decent football after many fans had given up on him. Still, he might not be a long-term answer at outside corner. As a depth piece, he’s great. But, the Bears could still use an upgrade on the outside opposite of Johnson.

Gordon is an interesting case, because he played much better in the slot as a rookie. But, do the Bears ultimately view him as a slot corner or an outside corner?

Bears free agent cornerbacks for 2023:

Dane Cruikshank

Breon Borders

Josh Blackwell

Looking at the Bears’ free agents at cornerback, it’s unlikely that any of them will be in Chicago for 2023. There isn’t much at all to look at, here, but when it comes to the free agent pool, the Bears have plenty of options.

Best free agent cornerbacks for 2023:

Marcus Peters

James Bradberry

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (CB/S)

Jamel Dean

Cameron Sutton

Jonathan Jones

Patrick Peterson

Byron Murphy

If the Bears wanted to move Gordon into a full-time slot role, then one of the above guys could benefit from starting opposite Jaylon Johnson.

All except maybe Chauncey Gardner-Johnson would be solid outside starters. If Gordon was more comfortable playing outside in his second season, Gardner-Johnson would be a fantastic signing, but would cost greatly. Philadelphia definitely wants to keep him around after trading for him a year ago, but the Bears can afford to dish out some top-end money, so we’ll see.

The only one who maybe doesn’t make a ton of sense is Patrick Peterson, who is getting up there in age. Marcus Peters is also getting older and has had injury issues as of late, so maybe he doesn’t make a ton of sense. But, guys like Dean, Sutton or Jones could be excellent additions to the Bears defense.