Chicago Bears Position Grades: Cornerback

The Chicago Bears defense took a bit of a step back in 2024. Their personnel weren’t performing up to standards and the coaching slipped up.

Defensive guru and head coach Matt Eberflus was let go just after Thanksgiving and the defense did a little bit of a free fall after that.

Of all the units on the defensive side of the ball for the Chicago Bears, the cornerback position just might be the most solid when everyone is healthy and available. They boast one of the best cornerbacks in the league along with a handful of other guys that know how to hold their own.

The Bears season has come to an end but the offseason is just starting. It’s time to look at a few of the position groups on the Bears, see how they performed in 2024, and what their outlook is for the 2025 season.
Let’s dive in and look at the Bears cornerbacks.

Jaylon Johnson

Jaylon Johnson is one of the top cornerbacks in the entire league. This has been proven thanks to his selection to the Pro Bowl. Watching him every Sunday, it appears as if he is a strong cornerback who shuts down his opponent but some out there feel that he’s not terribly productive or even that good. Some services have him ranked low when it comes to his position. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the number 18 cornerback in the league in 2024.

Truth be told, Johnson 25, is as strong as they come in the secondary and is the Bears’ best defensive player. He didn’t get a lot of help from the defensive line this year but was still able to do well in locking down receivers and keeping them from catching too many passes. His two interceptions weren’t a sign of great production, but you won’t get that many interceptions if the ball isn’t coming your way.

Johnson isn’t going to be going anywhere next year. He’s locked in and the Bears aren’t going to let him go.

Kyler Gordon

Another guy in the cornerback group who played well at times in 2024 was Kyler Gordon. While the stats aren’t quite there, Gordon, 25, flashed sometimes and can be considered one of the Bears most trusted cornerbacks. He’s not that far off from Johnson in terms of rating and ability. He comes up just behind Johnson in a few categories.

Gordon is heading into his fourth year with the Bears and it’s time he took it to the next level. He needs to step things up but is heading in the right direction. The Bears need him to get on a different level and be a showstopper. He’s in the final season of his rookie contract in 2025, so Chicago’s brass will have to make a decision on him soon.

Josh Blackwell

Josh Blackwell is another four-year guy and he didn’t see a whole lot of action this season but did manage to get one interception during his limited playing time. The Bears will take a long look at Blackwell, 25, and see if he’s worth keeping around, mostly as a backup but if there is an injury, could be a viable replacement. This, of course, if they resign him as he’s a restricted free agent.

Terell Smith

Terell Smith is another cornerback who has graded out well for the Bears in 2024. He was involved in 207 snaps and managed to snag one interception. The Bears have a very promising prospect in Smith, and he should continue to stick with the team in 2025. The Bears need depth at cornerback and Smith provides that and with some quality.

The issue with Smith, 25, in 2024 was that he missed some time with injuries, particularly a hip injury. He should be over it by the time training camp starts so the Bears will look forward to giving him a shot at making the roster in 2025.

Ameer Speed

The Bears also have two-year man Ameer Speed, 25, in the fold. He hardly saw any action this year, only getting in on three snaps in two games so it’s hard to gauge his performance. He spent time on both the active roster and the practice squad in 2024.

Speed is an exclusive rights free agent, so we’ll see what the Bears decide to do with him. They may bring him back and give him another shot to make the roster in 2025.

Jaylon Jones

Jaylon Jones, 22, will be a restricted free agent this coming offseason. The Bears have a decision to make with him. Will they bring him back or will they look elsewhere for help? Jones participated in eight games in 2024. His most productive game came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London where he had ten total tackles.

Jones ended up on injured reserve with a shoulder injury for the rest of the season following the game against the Arizona Cardinals. He appears to be on the mend and the Bears might bring him back and give him a shot to make the roster. He has some promise and could fit in nicely with the team in the long run.

Tyrique Stevenson

Finally, we get to the much-maligned Tyrique Stevenson. No one needs to remind Bears fans what Stevenson did last season in the game against the Washington Commanders. It’s something that everyone would like to forget. Stevenson was very active during the season, playing in a total of 810 snaps. He grabbed two interceptions but he was careless at times and unstable.

The Bears might want to consider a replacement for Stevenson, 26, this offseason. Whether it’s through free agency or the draft, the Bears might want to get some additional help. Then they can decide what they want to do with him. With a new coaching staff coming in, it’s difficult to predict what they will do with him so consider his status with the team up in the air, for now. Stevenson has two years left on his rookie deal with a cap hit around $2 million in 2026.

The Bears will likely take a look for some additional cornerback help in free agency and/or the draft. While they likely won’t change the face of the group a lot there will be some tweaks made. This is mainly because a new coaching staff is coming in and they will want to bring in talent that’s made up of some of their guys to fit their new system.

Don’t look for a whole lot of shaking up here but some tweaking will be done.

What grade would be given to this group, overall?  While they were not that productive when it came to turnovers, they were able to keep some passing attacks at bay while they let others run rampant a little. But it’s not entirely this group’s fault.

Final Grade: B-