Much Needed Roster Additions

The Bears began to address two roster spots almost totally neglected so far by agreeing to terms with tight end Ryan Griffin and cornerback Tavon Young.

USA Today

At least the Bears can finally line up in a three-tight end formation.

And they've finally begun to address the cornerback problems.

They assigned a third tight end to the roster by picking up veteran tight end Ryan Griffin for one year and $2.25 million.  Also, they signed a cornerback who has been a starter in the past while also playing the slot in Tavon Young, the Baltimore Ravens free agent. Pro Football Focus reported both moves.

Both players were released this month in cap-saving moves by their teams.

Young is a candidate to be a nickel challenger for Duke Shelley as he has been at that position in past years. In fact, he was the highest-paid slot cornerback when he signed an extension and made $11 million with the Ravens in 2019. Overthecap.com reported his signing with the Bears to be for $1.35 million with $650,000 guaranteed.

Young, 28, played college ball at Temple and was a fourth-round pick by Baltimore. He had torn ACLs in 2019 and 2020 but last year played in every game with an interception and 35 tackles. He had a passer rating against of 85.1 last year when targeted.

Griffin has never been a big-impact tight end. The 6-foot-6, 255-pounder is a 10th-year veteran, is 32 years old, and never had a season approaching his career best of 50 receptions for 442 yards (8.8 yards a catch) with the Texans in 2016. His next-best receiving total was 34 in 2019 with the Jets.

Griffin has 206 career catches for 2,158 yards and 14 TDs, with 27 catches for 261 yards and two TDs coming last year with the Jets.

The Bears had only Cole Kmet and Jesper Horsted on their roster at tight end, so it's possible they'll sign more at this position or draft someone. They had a visit from Maryland tight end prospect Chigoziem Okwonko earlier this week.

Griffin is not among the unrestricted free agents who entered the market in March. He is a player the Jets cut on Monday in a cap-saving move, allowing them to regain about $3 million according to Spotrac.com

The former UConn player effectively becomes competition for Horsted and a possible backup to Kmet.

Young is the first cornerback the Bears have added this offseason. Backups Artie Burns and Xavier Crawford had already left in free agency, Burns for Seattle and Crawford for Jacksonville.

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