For years, the Chicago Bears hoped that Tyrique Stevenson would eventually live up to his pre-draft hype. He's now in the midst of the final year of his contract, and he continues to be as erratic and unreliable as he was on day one.
Stevenson vowed to be at his best this season, but if Week 4 is an omen of what's to come, he might not have even hit rock bottom yet. Fortunately for the Bears, help is finally on the way, and Stevenson might not be on the field for much longer.
With Kyler Gordon set to return soon, the Bears will get their slot specialist back in the secondary. That will allow them to move star rookie Malik Muhammad to the boundary and finally put an end to this nightmare.
Tyrique Stevenson shouldn't be back in Chicago next season
The win over the New York Jets showed just why the Bears can't keep banking on Stevenson to get the job done. He dropped a layup of an interception early on in the game before Geno Smith torched him with a 58-yard touchdown bomb to Isaiah Williams. Two losing plays on a winning team.
Through the first four games of the season, the former second-round pick has given up 10 catches on 16 targets. While that doesn't sound too bad, he's allowed 203 receiving yards, 20.3 yards per reception, 51 yards after the catch, and three touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks have a 145.8 passer rating when targeting him.
This has been a recurring issue with Stevenson. He's often on the wrong end of big plays, and unlike most of his fellow defensive backs, he hasn't maximized his time under Al Harris' tutelage to become a ball-hawk. He's giving this team nothing on defense.
Kyler Gordon used to be a star. There's no telling just how well he'll play after missing most of last season with a nagging injury, but barring a surprise, he should return to his usual spot as the starting nickel, even if he struggles early on.
Muhammad has played outstanding football dating back to training camp, and there's no way he should ride the pine to favor a struggling veteran who may not even be on the team next season (at least he shouldn't).
The Bears' defense has been significantly better than advertised this season. But as much as some wouldn't fix what's not broken, even the best things can be improved, and it's pretty easy to identify the weakest link in that unit.
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