Competition was the buzzword for GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus when the off-season began. They wanted to create as much of it as possible going into Chicago Bears training camp. No position should be without it. They believe competition makes players better. One is often at his best when he feels he must fight for his job. It sounds like the mission was accomplished. The Bears have several intriguing battles unfolding across the roster. Tyler Scott and Velus Jones are trading shots at wide receiver. Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter have both looked strong at defensive tackle.
However, easily the most even fight to start training camp has ironically been between two rookies. Chicago selected two cornerbacks in the 2023 draft: Tyrique Stevenson in the 2nd round and Terell Smith in the 5th. Poles traded up for Stevenson, indicating how much the Bears liked him. Smith was the surprise. Many in the building had felt he should’ve been long gone by that point. It felt as if they’d gotten a steal. Now the two have traded reps with the 1st-team defense to start camp, and both are making plays. Stevenson had an interception on Monday. Smith replied with a tipped pass that led to another on Tuesday.
Neither is backing down.
Tyrique Stevenson is balling.
Another PBU in the red zone this time against Robert Tonyan. This kid can play. #DaBears#Bears
Tyrique Stevenson says Bears coaches "made it real clear there’s going to be a competition" between himself and rookie Terell Smith for the vacant outside corner spot. Both continue to split first team reps.
"We both know we're working for the same position."
The Chicago Bears are elated with this development.
They feel they already have two solid cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. To see two rookies step up immediately like this is a welcome sign for their secondary going into this season. It also speaks to the job Poles did in finding both of them. Time will tell if they can translate great play in practice to the actual games. It is likely this battle will carry into the preseason later this month. It feels like Stevenson has the slight edge for the moment, but Smith has gained ground over the past week.
What makes it more impressive is they’ve done this against a pretty solid receiving corps of proven NFL veterans like D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. It’d be one thing if this were last year with Byron Pringle and Dante Pettis taking snaps with the #1 offense. These rookies are showing their stuff against legit players. That would explain why the coaching staff is so excited. It should only get more competitive moving forward as the clock ticks down.
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