The nightmare that was the 2024 Chicago Bears season is over. Before the transactional period starts and the roster changes begin, we will recap the seasons of most of the 53-man roster. Next up: We’re looking at the 2024 season of cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Tyrique Stevenson’s 2024 Snapshot
What a difference a year makes. At this time last season, we were praising Tyrique Stevenson for a phenomenal final seven weeks of the 2023 season, where he intercepted four passes in that span. Stevenson’s rookie season included 86 tackles, four interceptions, 16 passes defended, a tackle-for-loss, and two forced fumbles.
Stevenson entered the 2024 season as the clear-cut starter opposite Jaylon Johnson. With Kyler Gordon manning the nickel spot and Kevin Byard III and Jaquan Brisker at safety, Stevenson’s emergence down the stretch in 2023 had folks considering Chicago’s one of the best in the league on paper.
A year removed from his sizzling end to his rookie season, Stevenson is now considered a question mark — mainly due to his unfortunate role in the Fail Mary that began the death spiral that defined Chicago’s season. But is that fair?

Stevenson’s numbers declined from 2023, but not enough to look at him in such a drastically different light, all other things aside. He logged 78 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and 12 passes defended. His numbers were slightly less impressive than in 2023, but he also lost playing time following the loss to the Commanders. He was seen taunting fans before he tipped Jayden Daniels’ game-winning touchdown heave into the hands of Noah Brown in the end zone.
By the Numbers
- Tackles: 78
- Tackles for loss: 1
- Interceptions: 2
- Passes Defended: 12
- Forced Fumbles: 1
Contract Status
Stevenson is entering the third year of his rookie contract in 2025 and is due to make $1.75 million, with a base salary of $1.33 million and $422,637 in prorated signing bonus. Cutting ties with Stevenson doesn’t make much sense financially, with a meager $913,681 cap savings and a dead cap hit of $845,274 if they were to cut him before June 1.

Turning the Page
Here’s the bottom line on Tyrique Stevenson: He is not going anywhere. Stevenson was a scapegoat for the failures of the secondary this season. His work in man coverage wasn’t up to snuff and it became a focal point for opposing teams attacking Chicago’s defense. But Stevenson is still a good, starting-caliber cornerback in the NFL on his rookie deal. Dennis Allen, the Bears’ new defensive coordinator, will bring a different kind of energy to that unit. That is something Stevenson could benefit significantly from as he enters his third year as a pro.
MORE: Dennis Allen Describes What His Defense Will Look Like in 2025
Again, Tyrique Stevenson’s man coverage needs work. The maturity needs work. I’m not denying either of those facts. However, Stevenson figures to compete for the other starting cornerback job this summer because the Bears have too many other glaring needs to address this offseason to replace him with a high-price starter. Bringing in a cheap veteran to compete with Stevenson or making it clear that draft classmate Terrell Smith is getting a legitimate shot at winning his job during camp and the preseason would both be fine and very realistic scenarios. Still, they both involve Stevenson being with the Bears and competing for a starting job in 2025, which is the most likely scenario.