Kyle Fuller hasn’t stood out too much this offseason. When can we start being concerned? — @martinez3507
I was expecting to hear more great things about Kyle Fuller after coaches praised him but sounds like his camp has been just OK. True? — @roninarc
Fair questions regarding Fuller, who coach John Fox praised shortly after being hired as coach. Recall also that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he did a good amount of homework on Fuller as he was coming out of Virginia Tech with the San Francisco 49ers taking a close look at him.
Fuller wasn’t making a lot of splash plays in training camp but remember Jay Cutler wasn’t getting intercepted by anyone and the work was primarily ones vs. ones and twos vs. twos etc. That being said, Fuller wasn’t been torched for big plays time and time again either. He made some outstanding plays early in the regular season as a rookie, including some big plays that helped them win in Week 2 at San Francisco. That’s the kind of player the Bears are hoping they have this season.
Fuller battled some nagging injuries through the second half of last season. I think the Bears feel pretty good about him and certainly they like his size and length on the outside in the new scheme. His development is paramount for a defense and roster short on young talent. No doubt about that.
The bigger question right now, from my perspective anyway, is who starts opposite Fuller? Tim Jennings is holding down that position right now but the Bears have at least filtered through a few other players at left cornerback, including Alan Ball, Sherrick McManis and Tracy Porter. Ball hasn’t been fully healthy very much with his biceps injury from last season keeping him out of drills in the spring and then a foot injury slowing him in training camp. When Ball was signed for $3 million for one season in free agency, that looked like starter money to me. But right now it could be Ball plays on the outside in the nickel package and Jennings moved inside to the slot in the sub package. The situation is still fluid but it’s worth monitoring and Fuller has to ascend for sure.
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