The pressure is on the starting safeties
Last season, despite all of the changes made to the offensive, many felt that Poles did not do enough to solidify the offensive line. Those people were right and the offense struggled because of it.
If there is something that Poles might have overlooked this offseason it is the safety position. The Chicago Bears defense has Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker as the starters. It is pretty thin after that. Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks are solid backups.
The problem is that if something happens to either Byard or Brisker, are Owens or Brisker able to step up. Even if they do, who backs them up?
Byard had a very good season in 2024. However, he is 32 years old now. There are more seasons behind him than in front of him. A lot of players tend to fall off of a cliff as they age. They may have one more solid season before it falls apart. Was 2024 that season for Byard?
With Brisker the concern is his health. When healthy he is a hard hitter and makes big plays. However, he has missed a lot of games in his first three seasons. he has missed 16 of a possible 51 games. He cannot help the team if he is on injured reserve.
The Bears had a similar problem with Teven Jenkins. The talented offensive lineman was very good when he was on the field but did not have a complete healthy season. He was up for a new contract but the front office decided to let him walk. Could the same happen with Brisker?
It would behoove Poles and the Chicago Bears to perhaps look for another veteran safety with some starting experience. Football is a brutal sport and there will be injuries. We saw what happened to the team when they did not have a proper Plan B to account for injuries. That cannot happen again.
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