NEWSLETTER
If Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings turns out to be Kyle Fuller’s last in a Chicago Bears uniform, at least he’ll be going out with a bang.
Of course, there’s a chance (and a hope) that Fuller could just be turning a page and preparing to write a new chapter in his Bears career. Fuller is a free agent after the season, making the timing of his career-year in 2017 all the more, uhm, timely. While it would be easy for Fuller to leave for the greener pastures of more obviously competitive teams, the final first-round pick of the Phil Emery era could ultimately return in 2018 and beyond, and that’s huge for the Bears.
“I’m happy here. It’s where I started, so I’m happy where I’m at,” Fuller said, via Zack Pearson of Scout.com’s Bear Report. “I definitely can see myself here.”
Fuller has earned a career-best 84.1 grade from Pro Football Focus in his team-leading 567 coverage snaps this season. And league-wide, the 25-year-old cornerback’s grade ranks 25th best among the site’s 121 qualifiers. Fuller has also been challenged early and often, as one of the league’s most targeted cornerback – his career-high 22 passes defended are the second most in the league, trailing only Darius Slay (23) of the Detroit Lions.
To put it simply: it’s in the Bears’ best interests to retain Fuller, even with an inflated price tag. And, hey, the Bears are expected to be flush with some cap space again, so maybe it won’t be too big of a deal anyway.
Joel Corry of CBS Sports projects the 2018 franchise tag for cornerbacks to come in at $15.212 million, which is an increase of more than 7 percent. We tossed out the idea of the Bears using the tag to keep Fuller on what would amount to be a one-year “prove it” deal or something to serve as a baseline for negotiations regarding a long-term contract. We have also previously discussed the parameters of what a multi-year deal would look like, based on the kinds of contracts that were signed in 2017.
If all this feels familiar, it’s because it’s all-too-similar to the situation the Bears found themselves in at this time last year regarding receiver Alshon Jeffery. An established home-grown player at a position of need whose price tag might be otherwise prohibitive were it not for the team’s desperate need for playmakers at the position. The Bears allowed Jeffery to walk away for nothing and the offense (not to mention Mitch Trubisky’s development curve) suffered for it.
But unlike Jeffery, Fuller seems to be willing to return to Chicago despite all that he’s been through. And if that’s the case, it would behoove the powers that be at Halas Hall not to let history repeat itself with Fuller.
