Chicago Bears: Mark Fields will make you forget about Bryce Callahan

The Chicago Bears need help at the cornerback position, and a proven winner like Mark Fields could be the answer.

Last week, the Chicago Bears opened free agency by signing cornerback Buster Skrine. The former New York Jets nickel cornerback drew high praise from Bear’s head coach Matt Nagy when the Jets came to Soldier Field to take on the team last October.

Nagy said of Skrine “he’s one of the better nickel corners in the game, if not the best.” In retrospect, perhaps we should have taken greater notice of the comment. It was kind of an odd (and unprompted) response, especially considering the fact that the Bears themselves had one of, if not the best, nickel corner in the league last year in Bryce Callahan. However, Nagy was obviously intrigued by Skrine’s game.

Unfortunately, for Callahan, he has been limited throughout his career by injuries. In fact, he has yet to play a full 16-game season for the Bears since being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Rice University back in 2015.

As a result, the Bears were reluctant to invest the long term dollars in Callahan that he was looking for this offseason and decided to let him walk. Callahan has since reunited with Vic Fangio in Denver, while Skrine will attempt to fill Callahan’s shoes in the nickel spot.

However, Skrine will be 30-years old at the start of the season, so it would make a lot of sense for the team to look to the NFL Draft for a longer-term replacement. When they do, they will find the perfect option to take over the nickel spot in Clemson’s Mark Fields.