NEWSLETTER
Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper nursing hamstring injuries has the Chicago Bears’ secondary is looking a little thin. So with that in mind, it makes sense that the team worked out someone who could help provide some depth:
Bears tryout: CB Quinten Rollins.
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) October 16, 2018
NFL reporter Howard Balzer reports the Bears hosted cornerback Quinten Rollins for a tryout. Rollins is a 26-year-old cornerback with 33 games of pro experience with the Green Bay Packers, including 15 starts from 2015-17. Nothing wrong with picking the brain of a rival, especially if he happens to play an apparent position of need.
The Packers selected Rollins in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft after a solid college career for Miami (Ohio). He was the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, a season in which he came away with seven interceptions, picked up 72 total tackles, forced a fumble, and scored a defensive touchdown. Green Bay tried converting Rollins from a cornerback to safety during the preseason, but he didn’t take to his new role, suffered a hamstring injury (seriously? c’mon), and was released by the team with an injury settlement.
According to the NFL.com draft profile put together by Lance Zierlein, Rollins was believed to have the physical tools to become a “very good NFL starter” … even though there wasn’t much certainty about his position. An AFC Defensive Backs Coach is sourced in the profile saying that while Rollins could play cornerback and safety, he was graded as a second-round safety, but a fourth-round cornerback. Those are two pretty different distinctions for a talented player. But still … that makes him an intriguing player for the Bears to bring in for a check-up.
The Bears’ secondary was put through the ringer in the second half of Week 6 and things won’t get any easier this Sunday with the Patriots coming to town. So as long as health and productivity issues continue to cause issues, you can expect the Bears to further explore the open market to see if there is a fit who can fix what ails them.
