Why Scheme Switch Could Be a Plus for Devante Bond

Devante Bond didn't fit in as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense with Tampa Bay but the Bears are hoping to resurrect his career as a backup inside linebacker in the 3-4.

In Devante Bond, the Bears think they might have someone who fell through the cracks and was overlooked.

It's pretty simple how this could happen. It occasionally occurs in the NFL and when it does it sometimes has to do with playing in the wrong scheme.

Bond spent his first three-plus NFL seasons playing outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 4-3 defense. Even after they switched coaches last year they retained a 4-3. He wasn't a pass rusher. He was an outside linebacker.

The Bears picked him up after he had a four-week suspension for a banned substance policy violation and was being cut last year in December, got him onto the field for 35 special teams plays in three games and liked him enough to bring him back on a contract this year.

In Chicago, he isn't an outside linebacker or pass rusher. He's an inside linebacker ai at 6-foot-1, 236 pounds. The Bears see promise, and much of it goes back to the NFL combine when Bond posted a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap coming out of Oklahoma.

There were no inside linebackers at the combine who leaped that high besides Bond and there only two outside linebackers who did. One was a player named Leonard Floyd, who went 39 1/2 inches.

Having an inside linebacker with a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap in a 3-4 is invaluable in zone pass coverage. So it was worth the risk just to pick him up and the Bears are encouraged after seeing how he absorbed the defense during their virtual Zoom offseason.

"So I haven't seen Devante play a lot yet, right, because it was just at the end of the year but he's been exceptional in these Zoom meetings and he's played some really good ball with Tampa," inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone said.

To say he showed much with Tampa Bay might be an exaggeration. A sixth-round draft pick, he went on IR with a hamstring injury before his rookie season. In 2017 he got two starts in Weeks 2 and 3 and went back to the bench afterward, playing largely special teams. He had five games with five or fewer snaps on defense that year.

It was 2018 where the Bucs got a better idea of his ability. He started four times, had his career-high of five tackles in a game with the 49ers and went back to the bench, never to be a starter there again.

On special teams Bond stood out in 2018 with a team-high 10 tackles, including nine solos.

Bond played special teams the first three weeks of 2019, got suspended and then cut and came to Chicago.

So at the least, the Bears think they could have a backup with special teams coverage ability in Bond. If fortunate, they could have an inside linebacker with three-plus years of NFL experience.

Devante Bond at a Glance

Oklahoma ILB

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 236

Key Numbers: In his last two seasons, Bond had 26 tackle attempts and missed on only one.

Roster Chances: 2.5 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the most.

2020 Projection: Special teams coverage player with seven tackles.