Name recognition is such an underrated part of longevity in the NFL. Having lots of success early in your career can often help sustain you for years, even if you stopped playing good football a long time ago. The Chicago Bears have been guilty of signing players like this in the past, as have all other franchises. That allure of maybe, just maybe squeezing one more good year from a proven player is too hard to pass up. Sadly it looks like they may have done it again. This time with Desmond Trufant.
It isn’t hard to understand why Chicago signed the 30-year old. They’d just lost Kyle Fuller to release due to salary cap problems. They needed some veteran stability at cornerback. Trufant is a former Pro Bowler and came at a cheap price. Not a hard decision. Yet the mistake a lot of people have made is handing a roster spot to him from the outset. If one were to truly assess the situation?
He is hardly a lock to make the final 53.
Understand that Trufant is not the player he was six years ago. An honest assessment of his play suggests somebody that has become far more susceptible to getting beat in coverage. Over the past two seasons, opposing quarterbacks have a healthy 102.98 passer rating when throwing in his direction. They’ve beaten him for seven touchdowns. What makes that even worse is he only played 15 games in that span.
Injuries have slowed him significantly the past two seasons. The one thing that has kept his credibility afloat was the fact he snared four interceptions in 2019. His best-ever number for a season. However, the interceptions didn’t totally overshadow his problems in coverage. To say nothing of the fact he’s also missed nine tackles over that 15-game span. A signal his run defense isn’t reliable either.
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Desmond Trufant won’t have it easy this August
He might be the most notable name in the cornerback room, but he has significant competition itching to make that irrelevant. Jaylon Johnson is already considered a starter. Now fellow 2020 draft pick Kindle Vildor is starting to make noise in practice. Enough to where some think he has a legitimate chance to swipe the other starting spot opposite him. That wouldn’t be a great look for Trufant.
Vildor isn’t alone though. Duke Shelley is still in the mix after some promising flashes last season. Joining the fun will be Tre Roberson and Artie Burns, both of whom failed to make the roster last year due to injuries. They should not be ignored in this either. Then there is always the chance the Bears could add another face to the mix. They’re reportedly still in pursuit of former Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Steven Nelson.
At first glance, it seems like an easy sell.
Desmond Trufant went to a Pro Bowl. He’s been solid when healthy before. It isn’t a huge stretch to see him making the roster. At the same time, injuries have haunted him for a long time now. His play on the field wasn’t that good during that span, he’s getting older, and the Bears have some younger bodies eager to chart their own course. Just don’t lock him down for this September yet.
