Roster Cuts Can Yield Harvest if Bears Look

With a few real needs after roster cuts, it's possible for the Bears to find those in the waiver market if they're fortunate enough for players to slip through.

With only eight defensive backs on the roster, it would be almost negligent if the Bears failed to add another defensive back.

What the Bears really need is a slot cornerback capable of challenging Duke Shelley, if not taking the spot entirely.

Beyond that, it almost sounds ridiculous to say but after a heated and expansive wide receiver roster battle the Bears also have too few receivers with five. They could use one, especially one who can return punts because trusting Damiere Byrd to do it when he really hasn't been a punt returner is risky.

They went through problems like this last year after Tarik Cohen's knee injury, as they watched Ted Ginn Jr. struggle when they didn't want to risk letting Anthony Miller do it after he'd been injured as a return man in the past.

There could be players among those released who can help.

They also need another tackle but waiting for one of those to be cut and fall to some team is like anticipating you'll win the lottery. If good slot cornerbacks are hard to find on waivers, finding a tackle is all but impossible.

Cornerback, slot or otherwise

Coach Matt Nagy puts a lot of faith in defensive coordinator Sean Desai's abilities but thinking he can take the group of players they currently have and simply coach them up would be inviting disaster.

What the Bears really need is a slot cornerback capable of challenging Duke Shelley, if not taking the spot entirely.

Two slot cornerbacks of note came available on roster cutdown day, and one of them is Lions 29-year-old retread Nickell Robey-Coleman. He will be going to his fifth team if he signs. The Bears had an older veteran last year in Buster Skrine and the position is a demanding one, better off left to a younger player.

The other player released is younger. It's Washington's Jimmy Moreland, who is in his third year. He couldn't be a better fit for the Bears at this time if he showed up at Halas Hall already wearing blue and orange.

The problem is Moreland would need to clear waivers and the Bears are 20th in order on the waivers pecking order. It might be difficult for Moreland to clear all of those teams.

Last year Washington moved Moreland into the slot after he played right cornerback as a rookie. All of his stats improved drastically.

Next Gen stats tracked Moreland as achieving the third-best success rate among slot cornerbacks. Only Jourdan Lewis and Bears antagonist Chauncey Gardner-Johnson achieved better success rates than Moreland (57.6).

Last year Moreland didn't allow a touchdown, a pretty significant accomplishment for corners who must play the middle of the field for 57% of defensive snaps, as Moreland did.

The 5-10, 182-pounder was James Madison's all-time interception leader. He had an excellent 74.1 passer rating against last year, according to SportRadar. He allowed 67.7% completions when targeted, which sounds high but really isn't for the position. It would be very high on the outside but not in the slot.

Considering Desai's expertise as a former coach of nickel backs, it's a situation where Moreland could benefit from some different coaching while playing in a different secondary.

There is another interesting option but he's an outside corner, and that's another seventh-round draft pick.

Tampa Bay released rookie Chris Wilcox, who is a 6-2 1/2, 195-pound cornerback from BYU. Rangy cornerback don't just pop up every day and if they have athletic ability they also can be looked at as safeties.

Tampa Bay last season had one of the league's best secondaries at making plays on the ball. They had 15 interceptions, seventh best, and were a very young group. It was a situation too tough for Wilcox to crack into but he's a player who would be worth a look by the Bears to develop at cornerback or even safety.

Speed receiver/punt returner

In keeping the team's revamp of the receiver corps in mind, there is one player who was cut but could fit the need the Bears have and that's a player who's a bit older now but still has abilities. This is Travis Benjamin, the former L.A. Chargers receiver who was cut by San Francisco.

Coming out of college almost a decade ago, Benjamin ran a blazing 4.31-second 40-yard dash. The Bears wouldn't be interested immediately in Benjamin's receiving skills but more in punt returns initially.

Benjamin opted out last year and didn't return punts on a regular basis in 2019. He suffered a hip injury and went on injured reserve. But in 2018 he averaged 9.5 yards per return with a TD. For his career, he's averaged 10.9 yards a return, better than Tarik Cohen (10.3) for 13 more returns.

At 5-8, 175, Benjamin would even be a similar player size-wise to Cohen and could handle the punt return duties for now. The Bears will need to wait at least six weeks into the season before Cohen could return because he has been designated reserve/physically unable to perform.

Benjamin as a receiver is not a great deal unlike Marquise Goodwin. He's a year older, plays with great speed and has 19 career touchdown catches, which is six more than Goodwin. He averages 15.1 yards per receptions to 16.6 by Goodwin.

The question is whether he still has the speed after a year away and the season-ending injury in 2019.

Another concern would be the concussion he was reported to have sustained in the preseason finale, so it would necessarily be a plug-and-play situation unless he passes the protocol.

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