It's no secret that the Chicago Bears' secondary has played a huge part in the team's 9-4 start so far. Despite being injury-riddled the entire season, the unit has made up for Chicago's defensive lapses up front. However, the lingering issues are still a cause for concern.
Essentially, every Bears cornerback has dealt with an injury of some sort. Despite being healthy for a majority of the season, Tyrique Stevenson was finally bitten by the injury bug in Week 12 and has been sidelined with a hip injury ever since. With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon both returning in Week 13, it didn't seem as though Stevenson's injury would have a huge impact, especially with Nahshon Wright playing as well as he has.
That assumption could not have been more wrong, as Kyler Gordon is seemingly permanently sidelined with various injuries week in and week out to the point where Ben Johnson is unsure if he will take the field again this season.
Tyrique Stevenson Has All the Motivation Necessary to Want to Step Up
With both Gordon and Stevenson sidelined, the Nick McCloud experience has gone just about how you'd expect. This isn't overly surprising considering that McCloud was supposed to be nothing but a depth piece at the cornerback position. Coming back from his hip injury soon, Tyrique Stevenson needs to be the guy who steps up for the Chicago secondary in Gordon's absence, and he has every reason in the world to want to do so.
These next few weeks are not only the most important for the Bears, but for Stevenson himself. The 2026 season is the last year of Stevenson's rookie deal, meaning he needs to take advantage of these opportunities while he can and prove his worth as a starting cornerback going into a contract year.
These next couple of weeks in particular offer Stevenson a great opportunity: A fairly friendly schedule for the cornerback position. If Stevenson returns for Week 15, he gets a matchup against the Cleveland Browns, whose top receiving threat is rookie tight end Harold Fannin. The Week 16 rematch against the Green Bay Packers will be the "prove-it" game for Stevenson. The Bears clearly missed his presence in their first matchup, so if he can show up and make plays against a Packers team that doesn't necessarily have an elite wide receiver, his worth will be shown.
Stevenson playing well in his return isn't just about the rest of this season, but about the next season as well. Jaylon Johnson is undoubtedly Chicago's CB1, but everything after that is up in the air. Will the Bears be able to pay Nahshon Wright? Will Kyler Gordon ever be healthy and reliable again? If Stevenson can play well with the snaps he is given for the rest of this season, those questions can become lesser concerns than they currently are, and the Bears could have a new outlook on the future of their cornerback position.