Thomas Graham Jr. Replacement

The Bears lost Thomas Graham Jr. to the Browns and have signed former Vikings cornerback Harrison Hand as a practice squad replacement.

USA Today

The Bears have located a replacement for Thomas Graham Jr.

Graham was plucked from their practice squad by the Cleveland Browns on Monday, and on Tuesday they signed former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Harrison Hand to the practice squad.

Hand actually has played in a big chunk of games over two seasons, unlike Graham. He made an interception in 2020 and has been in 23 games with one start, three pass defenses and 22 tackles. His career high was an interception and two pass breakups playing in 2020 in Week 15 against New Orleans. 

Hand posted a passer rating against of 74.6 as a rookie according to Sportradar, and only 11 of the 20 passes targeted against him were completed that season including one TD pass. Then he seemed to fall out of favor as the Vikings made changes in their secondary.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound former Temple and Baylor player was a fifth-round pick by Minnesota in 2020. Hand was claimed off waivers by the New York giants after the Vikings cut him during preseason, but he did not make the roster.

Graham had been a sixth-round pick in 2021 for the Bears by Ryan Pace but didn't get onto the roster until late last season after COVID-19 and injuries decimated the roster.

Then he went through an injury issue this year in training camp, failed to make the team for the second straight year and was brought back on the practice squad.

If the Bears had been overly concerned about losing Graham, they could have opted to protect him on the practice squad. By signing him, the Browns had to put him on their 53-man roster.

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