Ever since the Chicago Bears let go of Pro Bowl defensive back Kyle Fuller to create cap space, fans have been wondering who will fill in those shoes. And while the Bears were quick to jump on defensive back Desmond Trufant, many fans weren’t satisfied.
The competition comes down to second-year pro, Kindle Vildor, and the nine-year pro, Desmond Trufant. And the Bears may have tipped their hand as to who is ahead.
During Tuesday’s press conference to open training camp, Ryan Pace talked about Vildor and how he’s entered this offseason with preparation:
“When I think about these young, emerging players on our team, he’s definitely one of them,” Pace said. “He’s such a pro, the way he prepares and the way he goes about his daily plan. He’s a talented player and we were really excited to get him in that area of the draft, and the sky’s the limit for him.”
Vildor came out of Georgia Southern with 94 tackles, 9 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble during his four years there. He became almost an instant impact with the Chicago Bears last season recording 17 tackles, one of which was an open field tackle on third down on Dalvin Cook, 1 pass deflection in Week 17 against Green Bay, and he only allowed two touchdowns. Vildor also has versatility in both man-to-man and zone coverage.
While speaking on Vildor’s rookie season, Ryan Pace went on to say, “That was kind of the bright side of that is that he got a lot of valuable playtime down the stretch and he definitely can push for the starting job. He has that kind of ability, and he looked really good this offseason.”
#Bears CB @ThePremier20 will be competing with Desmond Trufant for the starting outside cornerback spot opposite of Jaylon Johnson. Video credit to Vildor's Instagram page. pic.twitter.com/0n07S7mNzM
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) July 2, 2021
Ryan Pace also offered his thoughts on Desmond Trufant saying, “With Trufant, we’ve studied him a lot over the years from Atlanta to Detroit, and I think unfortunately last year, there was some soft tissue stuff that came up with hamstrings, so we’re getting ahead of that right now with our staff, trying to stay ahead of the curve with that. But Trufant we still feel has the stickiness to play man coverage, the suddenness, all those things. It’ll be good to see it all play out this camp, and there will be good competition there.”
Defensive back Desmond Trufant made his fame on the Atlanta Falcons from 2013 to 2019 recording 329 tackles, 3 forced fumbles with 7 fumble recoveries and 2 resulting in touchdowns, as well as catching 13 interceptions.
With training camp set to begin this week, we will be keeping an eye on the cornerback competition.
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