In the past few days, the Chicago Bears absorbed some brutal shots to their secondary. By far the worst of them was safety Coby Bryant. Their projected starter was expected to anchor the back end of the defense over the next few seasons. Instead, an awkward landing saw him tweak his knee. Initial projections see him missing at least two months. If that weren’t bad enough, the news got worse a few days later when reserves Dallis Flowers and Gervarrius Owens both went down with injuries of their own.
Suddenly, the safety position was looking alarmingly thin. Rather than continue exploring their depth, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have decided to bring in some outside help. Their choice is veteran safety Xavier Woods, most recently of the Tennessee Titans. A nine-year veteran, he was a 6th round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. He worked his way into the starting lineup. After a short stop in Minnesota after that, he spent three years in Carolina before bouncing over to Tennessee.
To date, he has 15 interceptions across his nine seasons, proving to be a steady and opportunistic presence.
Woods gives the Bears flexibility with Coby Bryant out.
Right now, the best option for the team has been moving veteran Cam Lewis to safety alongside Dillon Thieneman. There is one big problem, though. It leaves the nickel cornerback spot in a very dicey situation, what with Kyler Gordon also out. Woods has played in multiple defenses during his career. He is usually good about picking a system up quickly. He has worked in a similar system to Dennis Allen’s before. By dropping him into Bryant’s vacated spot, it allows the Bears to move Lewis to nickel corner, where he has far more experience than anybody else on the roster.
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It is a smart decision all the way around. They get a player with over 100 games of starting experience on the back end. He won’t make too many glaring mistakes and should serve as a good instructor for Thieneman as he develops. Lewis can focus on nickel corner, allowing the Bears to no longer rely on Gordon’s health. Then, whenever Coby Bryant does return, the team can rotate him, Woods, and Thieneman similar to what they did with Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson last season.
It didn’t stop there for the Bears.
They also added rookie defensive back Will Wright after a tryout as well. He spent five years playing for the Tennessee Volunteers, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos back in May. Given their deep secondary, he had little hope of making the roster. They soon released him. Wright was a walk-on in college, climbing up the depth chart to become a starter. He understands the value of hard work. The Bears’ interest in him isn’t hard to surmise. Wright played 435 snaps on special teams during his final three college seasons. This is unquestionably a Richard Hightower signing.
This should stabilize things as Bryant works his way back from his injury. It isn’t an ideal solution, but the Bears could do way worse. Woods is a competent player. He should have no trouble using the next few weeks getting up to speed. It will be interesting to see how the Bears decide to use him. Traditionally, he’s been a free safety by trade. Yet at age 31, maybe they find other ways.
