Bears Begin House Cleaning

Buster Skrine's expected departure puts Bears under the cap and begins an offseason of roster moves

The course of Bears actions in free agency and the draft could become known or at least more obvious on Tuesday when GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy meet with media members via Zoom.

One thing is known already, and that's the future at nickel cornerback will not include Buster Skrine.

The first of several Bears moves regarding the salary cap was one reported Monday by ESPN's Adam Schefter as Skrine is being released.

Skrine had one year left on his deal and the Bears freed up $2.7 million by the move. It put them back under the salary cap by $832,000, according to Spotrac.com figures.

Skrine's departure had been anticipated since late last year as he missed the final four games following his second concussion of the season. According to NFL injury reports, he has suffered six since coming into the league in 2011.

The Bears replaced him with second-year cornerback Duke Shelley last year. They see either Shelley or Kindle Vildor as potential slot cornerbacks, but both struggled at times when playing key roles for the first time in the final quarter of the season.

They could turn to the draft or could replace him with one of several slot cornerbacks who will be in the free agency market, although cap constraints promise to limit this. Cincinnati's Mackensie Alexander and K'waun Williams of the 49ers are two nickel cornerbacks who are expected to enter free agency.

In 28 games and two seasons, Skrine, the former Jets and Browns cornerback, had three forced fumbles, eight pass defenses and no interceptions. His passer rating against when targeted jumped last year from 91.8 to 125.7 and he allowed 78.1 completions after giving up just 59.3% in 2019.

The Nagy and Pace press conference is their annual pre-free agency talk and is slated for 3 p.m. They usually reveal little at these, although the status of wide receiver Allen Robinson and other free agents is sure to be addressed. 

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