With uncertainty lingering on Tyrique Stevenson, Bears must consider cornerback options in NFL Draft

INDIANAPOLIS — Cornerback has been a pesky issue for the Bears lately.

Every time they think they’ve sunk enough resources into that position to solidify it, something comes undone.

The big question they face this offseason is whether they can trust fourth-year corner Tyrique Stevenson as a long-term starter. That he hasn’t put that concern to rest by now is the reason he’s unlikely to get a contract extension going into the last season of his rookie deal.

The Bears are set with top corner Jaylon Johnson signed through 2027 and nickel corner Kyler Gordon beginning an extension that runs through ’28, but the other outside spot is hazy. That makes it possible the Bears would draft a cornerback in the first or second round — those picks are at Nos. 25 and 57 overall — despite a significant list of other needs.

With free agency a little more than a week away, the Bears must fill starting spots at left tackle, at least one safety spot and likely at linebacker with the expected departure of Tremaine Edmunds. That’s before considering upgrades on the defensive line and elsewhere.

They found a short-term answer at corner last season in journeyman Nahshon Wright, who had five interceptions, but he’s likely to take advantage of his first shot at a big contract and leave in free agency. As of now, Stevenson would be penciled in opposite Johnson.

The Bears showed last season they weren’t fully confident in that option.

In an up-and-down season for him, Stevenson didn’t start the last five games, including the playoffs. The Bears didn’t play him in the regular-season finale against the Lions, and he played less than one-third of the snaps in each playoff game.

It’s simply too important of a position for the Bears to go into the season without a sure plan, as was the case before general manager Ryan Poles’ arrival, when they had Johnson and virtually no one else.

The best corners likely to be available for the Bears late in the first round are Clemson’s Avieon Terrell and Tennessee’s Colton Hood. They could hope for Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds, South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse or San Diego State’s Chris Johnson toward the end of the second round.

Any of those potential draft picks would enter what appears to be an open competition for a starting job alongside Stevenson and fellow fourth-year corner Terell Smith. The Bears also drafted Zah Frazier in the fifth round last season and expect him to play this season after missing his rookie year on the non-football injury list.

“I’m not coming to the NFL to be on the bench,” Hood said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I’m planning to be a starter and take somebody’s job. That’s the harsh world we live in.”

That’s a superb understanding of the NFL from someone who has yet to play in it.

The Bears will be increasingly tough graders on Stevenson as their contractual commitment to him shrinks while they seek to become championship contenders.

Since being drafted in the second round at No. 56 in 2023, he has never been on firm footing. Instead of walking right into an open starting job, he spent part of his rookie season in a position battle with Smith, who went in the fifth round more than 100 picks later.

Then there was the Fail Mary in 2024, which is only going to fade if Stevenson becomes a Pro Bowl player.

Last season, Stevenson made huge plays — an interception and two forced fumbles — but remained unsteady. If the Bears are serious about winning now, they can only wait so long for him to eliminate doubts.