A lot of people can’t understand why the Chicago Bears are so infatuated with newly-signed nickel cornerback Buster Skrine. Head coach Matt Nagy called him one of the top slot corners in the league. For such a small guy he plays the game with physicality and aggressiveness. That is what this Bears defense wants to be all about.
As it turns out, it’s not an accident that Ryan Pace moved so quickly to sign the veteran after free agency began. According to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears had pursued Skrine as a free agent four years ago in 2015. They viewed him as a great fit for Vic Fangio’s system and loved his skill set.
In the end, Skrine took more money from the New York Jets. The Bears settled for a couple of cheap veterans on the unrestricted market and then signed Bryce Callahan as an undrafted free agent. So it seems like fate that he was the one who ended up replacing Callahan.
When the Bears eyed potential free-agent signings in the secondary for a defense run by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in 2015, Buster Skrine stood out after he made four interceptions for the Browns in the previous season.
Skrine, though, was in demand and opted to sign a four-year, $25 million contract with the Jets. The Bears added veteran cornerbacks Alan Ball and Tracy Porter with a pair of one-year deals.
“Buster is a guy we’ve always liked,” general manager Ryan Pace said during the NFL’s annual meetings. “It’s a guy that our scouts liked independently, we liked independently and then our coaches really admired him when we were preparing to play him.”
Buster Skrine isn’t perfect but he isn’t bad for the Bears either
People have been picking on Skrine since the Bears signed him. They think he’s inferior to Callahan in every regard. Is that fair? Not exactly. There’s no denying that Skrine had a difficult 2018 season. He was beaten for a touchdown five times and QBs had a 128.2 passer rating when throwing in his direction.
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Not good. Then again it wasn’t like his life was made easier by his teammates. The New York Jets had just 39 sacks last season, tying them for 16th in the league. It’s difficult to play solid coverage when your front seven can’t consistently get to the quarterback. In fact, the Jets never had more than 39 in a season every year he was there.
He’s also been called a penalty machine. There is truth to this as he’s struggled to avoid fouls at times, especially in coverage. However, he improved considerably last season with only six yellow flags. By comparison, Pro Bowlers Stephone Gilmore and Xavien Howard had eight and seven respectively.
Either way, it’s apparent Pace and the Bears believe Skrine can be a good fit in Chuck Pagano’s system. His skill set fits what they like to do and he’ll be playing behind what is easily the most talented front seven of his career.
