The Chicago Bears have been having some issues at cornerback this year. Injuries have taken their tolls. Marcus Cooper has missed significant time with a hamstring issue. Prince Amukamara suffered a hamstring injury, returned last week only to reaggravate it again. This has forced the team to lean heavily on undrafted free agent Kevin Toliver to fill the void. Not ideal given the array of top quarterbacks they’re set to face over the next couple of months.
That would explain why they held a workout for veteran cornerback Quinten Rollins according to longtime NFL media man Howard Balzer. The Bears brought him in Tuesday to get a look at him, perhaps keeping their options open depending on what happens with Cooper and Amukamara in the coming days.
Bears tryout: CB Quinten Rollins.
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) October 16, 2018
Rollins was a 2nd round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2015. A 5’11 cornerback out of Miami (Ohio), scouting liked him for his quickness, fluidity and physical style of play. He actually started his career strong the first two seasons, but injuries began to derail him. Eventually, he would miss 15 games in three years, forcing Green Bay to cut him.
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Rollins has skill set may look familiar to Chicago Bears DC Vic Fangio
Some may think that due to Rollins’ perceived lack of speed, that might turn someone like Vic Fangio off. The truth is it’s not the heaviest requirement for the Bears defensive coordinator. Kyle Fuller can’t be called the fastest corner on the field. He likes corners who can play downhill and physical and have a nose for the ball. Rollins checks those boxes.
In fact, NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared him to former veteran Perrish Cox. For those who don’t know, Cox was a former 5th round pick of Denver in 2010 who ended up with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 as a free agent. He was mostly on the bench for two years before working his way into the starting lineup in 2014 where he had five interceptions in Fangio’s final year with the team.
If Rollins is indeed similar to him, it might be something worth exploring further.
