Veteran cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had a notably bad showing for the Chicago Bears during a 24-20 win over the New York Giants in Week 10. On tape, and in the box score. And presumably everywhere else as well.
Stevenson struggled to defend the Giants' passing and run plays, ending the day with 50.8 overall and 52.9 coverage grades on Pro Football Focus. That's now the second of back-to-back forgettable performances for the Bears' defender, as he's ceded 15 catches on 20 targets for 263 yards over the last two games against the Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stevenson's solid play from Weeks 4 to 7 is officially a thing of the past, potentially leaving the Bears with no choice be to reconsider his future.
Tyrique Stevenson's Week 10 Performance Is the Beginning of the End
Stevenson has become a liability. That is painfully obvious. And unfortunately for Stevenson, his timing couldn't have been worse. The trade deadline already passed on Tuesday, so it isn't like Bears general manager Ryan Poles can shop for some help, and free agency isn't exactly ripe with needle-movers.
Assuming he can't turn things around, the Bears could debate moving on from Stevenson during the final year of his rookie contract next season. According to Spotrac, a contract buyout or trade would create over $1.6 million in savings while only bringing on $422,636 in dead cap space. It's not an ideal situation for the front office, but certainly not one the Bears' books wouldn't survive.
There really isn't an excuse for Stevenson to be as bad as he's been, especially against a wideout-deprived team like the Giants.
Allowing Darius Slayton, who nearly singlehandedly lost New York a 26-14 matchup to the New Orleans Saints in early October from his mistakes, to look like Malik Nabers is perhaps the most heinous sin a corner can commit. Especially now that Cam Skattebo is out of the lineup, and Jaxson Dart basically had to do it all himself out there.
Controversy is nothing new for the third-year corner. Stevenson shared the kiss of death before the Washington Commanders beat the Bears on the infamous Hail Mary play last season. Had the Giants won on Sunday, Stevenson's mistakes would've been more greatly amplified, and the Chicago fan base would likely be just as enraged at him as they were a year ago.
Stevenson is in a bad way, and the Bears may decide sooner rather than later that one of Poles' latest second-round picks isn't going to work out and cut bait. Chicago was already eyeing free-agent CB Asante Samuel Jr. earlier this week, and Stevenson's latest dud could force a secondary shake-up sooner than expected.